The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has commenced talks with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) for potential collaborations aimed at mobilising about $5 billion to drive investments in the sugar subsector.
The proposed agreement followed the visit of ACCI President, Mr. Emeka Obegolu, to the Executive Secretary of NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, in Abuja.
Bakrin said the council had a mandate, through the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), a 10-year blueprint currently in its second phase of implementation, to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production.
He said the target was to be able to produce two million metric tons of sugar annually, which covered the current annual consumption of about 1.8 million tons.
The NSDC boss said a key aspect of the masterplan was the mobilisation of the right kind of funding.
He said, “We estimate that the sector requires about $5 billion. So, one of the key roles of the council is to facilitate the mobilisation of the funding required, both in terms of equity as well as project finance or debt, if you will, of a particular nature that is suited to the gestation or the development cycle of sugar production, which is long-term, low-cost development finance.
“We take ACCI very seriously and we expect that we will be able to key into some of your activities and that they will actually lead to fruitful partnerships with the council; I mean, the various parties that ACCI represents, as well as those interests that we are seeking to promote on our side,” he said.
Earlier, Obegolu said the chamber was at the council to seek the sort of partnership and collaboration that will add value to the mandate of the NSDC.