EXECUTIVE Chairman of Richbon Group Chief CJ Muonagolu has assured that about five thousand new jobs would be created when the automobile assembly to be located in Anambra state fully comes on stream.

Speaking in an interview after the signing ceremony of a $40million memorandum of understanding with the Anambra state government in Awka recently, Muonagolu said his group will employ between 1000 and 1500 at 40 per cent capacity but that the number will escalate to between 3500 and 5000 jobs when its production hits a peak in the next few years. This is aside thousands of indirect jobs that would be available to Nigerians as a result of the project.

The company which will be producing XGMA brand of agricultural equipment, Sino trucks and Cedar commercial buses said its partnership with the Chinese firm was based on its track record which has rated it as the 3rd best in the world in the area of heavy equipment manufacturing.

Meanwhile the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda is expected to receive fresh boost as the plant begins manufacturing of agricultural equipment in the next 18months following the signing of the $40million memorandum of Understanding for agricultural machinery and automobile manufacturing assembly plant to be cited around the Onitsha axis of Anambra state.

The Richbon boss, who signed on behalf of the company, said the factory on completion would facilitate the transformation of the nation’s agricultural value chain and enhance transportation and distribution chain