GOVERNOR Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has flagged off the construction of the Osun Ethanol Bio-Refinery Factory that will generate 10,000 jobs and attract about $70m to the state.
The factory is situated at Ayekale, along Egbeda-Iragbiji Road, Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking during the inauguration, Governor Oyetola said his administration would leave nothing to chance in its determination to stimulating the economy of the State through a robust and mutually-benefitting Public-Private-Partnership.
The Governor said the factory’s building was part of efforts to place the state on the path of socio-economic growth, development and sustainability.
He said the administration would go the whole hog to collaborate with partners and private investors to achieve the dream of making Osun the industrial hub of the Southwest.
The Governor reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to continually adopt creative means to deliver good road network, health facilities, good schools and other facilities as means of developing Osun and putting it on the path of greatness.
He said the factory was part of the positive responses received by the government from members of the private sector, particularly local and foreign investors, who had earlier been wooed during the Osun Economic and Investment Summit held late last year.
When completed, the Osun Ethanol Bio-Refinery Factory will be operating on over 21 hectares of land conceded to it as equity, and on full operation, it is estimated that it will attract about $70m to the state and generate 10,000 jobs.
The product, ethanol, according to the governor, is one of the safe energy sources the world is turning to as a measure of preventing global warming.
According to him, it will be converting cassava to ethanol, thus empowering thousands of persons in the chain of planting, harvesting, transporting and processing cassava to ethanol and marketing a final product that is hot in today’s pharmaceutical and energy market.
Laying the foundation of the factory, Oyetola said his adminstration was poised to deliver the benefits of democracy to all and sundry and provide an enabling environment for private concerns to establish industries in the state.
The factory is expected to be completed in the next 24 to 36 months with a production capacity of 7million litres of biofuel annually.
