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By CALEB AYANSINA

ABUJA – In a bid to reduce unemployment rate in the country, a sugar company, Crystal Sugar, has hinted that, it would employ about 3,000 Nigerians in its factory in Hadejia, Jigawa State.

It also said that, following its agreement with Kenana Engineering and Technical Services West Africa (KETSWA), it would provide locals, firsthand opportunity to learn the whole production process of sugar from farm to table.

The Chairman, Crystal Sugar Company, Alh. Muhammed Sani, who stated this while briefing newsmen, in Abuja, disclosed that, the company which boasts initial crushing capacity of 1500 ton of sugarcane and 150 ton of refined sugar per day, is capable of generating direct jobs to Nigerians and people of Jigawa State in particular.

According to the Chairman, “the Factory has a unique advantage of having most of the factory component ready for operation making capable of being among the first or second to achieve Sugar Production from in Nigeria.

“We are building a new relationship with Kenana Engineering and Technical Services, about the oldest sugar development company in Africa. They are here to formalize new relationship which will see to the completion of the sugar factory and the design and construction of the sugar estate.”

The estate he added will be developed in a two-year programme that will seat in 6,000 hectares of land with 75 hectare seed nursery.

According to him, “God willing, this project will be commissioned in two-year’s time.”

Responding, Managing Director of KETSWA, Engr. Mulhim Eltayeb, said, “our special relationship with Crystal Sugar Company started back in year 2013 in which Kenana did an assessment of the plant and how to assemble the equipment.”

“We are going to continue from where we stopped, assessment of the existing situation of the plant and sugarcane plantation, in the next couple of months we will do the complete design for the full implementation of the project, which includes the factory and the sugarcane estate.”

He disclosed also that, the agreement with Crystal Sugar equally includes development of the expertise of the Nigerian people by transferring the knowledge it has accumulated over 40 years of the existence as biggest sugar company in Africa.