The Ogun State Government and Arise Integrated Industrial Platform (IIP), an India-based multinational company, have inaugurated a project implementation team to kickstart Nigeria’s largest garment production company in the state.
This team will identify necessary steps, establish timelines for each task, and prepare for the project’s groundbreaking ceremony, slated for September of this year.
Receiving a delegation from Arise IIP, led by its President, Mr. Gagan Gupta, and a representative from AFRIXEM Bank in Abeokuta, Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun expressed his delight at the project’s potential.
He emphasized the enormous contribution the factory would make to both the state and national economies.
According to Governor Abiodun, the factory will boast an impressive production capacity: 100 tons per hour, 1,000 tons per day, 40,000 tons per month, and approximately 350,000 tons annually.
This translates to an estimated 4.4 million garments produced daily, creating between 120,000 to 150,000 direct and indirect jobs.
He said: “What we are here for today is to put together a project implementation team to identify what needs to be done and when, to jointly establish timelines for each of the tasks so that we can prepare for the groundbreaking of the project in September.
“What I find most exciting is how this project will resuscitate cotton farming and cotton growing in Nigeria and the ripple effects on the economy.
“Ogun State fortunately grows the highest quality cotton in Nigeria. We dedicated 10 hectares of land in the first instance for cotton growing. We have a very active grower association in our state.
“I am hoping that you find the right cotton inputs that you will make available to these farmers, and they will become the outgrowers. That way, you will take over the ownership of the entire process, and Offtake agreements would have been signed with them so that they know what is expected at harvest.”
He lamented that Nigeria, which was a leading garment-producing nation in the past, has lost its position to its neighbours, maintaining that with the project, the nation would regain its pride of place as a top producer of textiles on the continent.
The $2 billion investment, Prince Abiodun noted, would be sited at the Special Agro Processing Zone at the airport city and would turn the state into a garment hub not only in the country but Africa as a whole.
“I must also, in particular, appreciate our President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for providing the enabling environment for the likes of Gagan Gupta to consider coming to invest in this sector and be so bullish as to have decided to commit this amount of funding alongside the bankers to this sector. We are looking at about $2 billion worth of investment,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Group, Gupta, said his company, with many years of experience in textile manufacturing, is set to establish a world-class textile industry that would produce for Nigeria and the rest of the world.
He said Nigeria has the potential to be Africa’s textile hub, noting that though there is a decline in local production of cotton, the establishment of the industry would encourage cotton farmers, thereby boosting its position in the world.
The Chief Executive Officer of ATMS, Raja Rajaburu, said their visit to the state was to plan how the company would invest close to $2.25 billion in the production of garments in the state, which would employ close to 120,000 direct laborers, but indirect labor will be 2.5 times more than direct labor.
“Because of the infrastructure and the facilitation created by the Governor’s Office, we are really enthusiastic about putting the project in Ogun State,” he said.
Arvind Mathor, the Chief Executive Officer of Textiles at the Arise Integrated Industrial Platform, in his remarks said: “We are here to discuss the setting up of our industrial park. Basically, we think there is a huge potential for domestic consumption as well as future exporting in the region and ECOWAS.
“The environment is excellent; the support we’ve received, the promises made, and our experience from the recent past are all very positive, so we are very happy about it.”
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