Wilmar Invests US$125.1m in Palm Oil plantation

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Wilmar plantation, a subsidiary of Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) has invested more than US$125 million in its palm oil plantations as well as corporate social responsibility projects.

The investment is also geared towards education, capacity building, health, employment, and economic development.

Wilmar looks forward to start production at the plantation having installed a state of the art milling plant that has a capacity capable of milling a week’s harvest in twelve hours.

According to the Sustainability Manager of Wilmar, Mr Asen Ako, part of the investment will go to contracts and infrastructural development after BPL through a state government privatization process purchased 5,594.012 hectares at Ibiae Estate and additional 5,549.801 hectares at Calaro Estate.

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He said the company’s first palm oil mill is still undergoing test runs and is yet to start full-scale commercial operations.

BPL has a robust CSR package for communities around its operation and this package is geared towards education, capacity building, health, employment, and economic development.

“In our support of education around our catchment area. To date, we have committed US$ 705,522.38 to Onun Secondary school Mbarakom which is 100% completed; US$ 324,077.23 (Camp 2 Primary School – 50% completed); US$ 290,863.51 (Ibiae Primary School – 90% completed); US$ 628,726.19 (Aningeje Secondary School – 75% completed)”.

As part of the company’s strategy to expand its palm oil production business in Africa, Wilmar set up Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) a fully owned subsidiary of Wilmar Africa Investment Ltd.

Wilmar is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and together with all its subsidiaries, are committed to ensuring their operations comply with RSPO Certification.

RSPO is a sustainable palm oil certification for growers, oil mills, refiners and traders, an assurance of sustainable production of palm oil products.

The investment is in addition to the partnership made by Biase Plantations with Heritage Bank in a US$ 644,960.00 deal on palm oil production.

“In our schools, we make provision for the library, computer labs and science labs, we also provide free housing for teachers within the campus, free electricity and much more (you can see this for yourself while on site).

“As part of our CSR, we have offered 144 tertiary education scholarships since 2014/2015 school year.

Scholarship is awarded each year to two students from each of the 20 communities that make up our catchment area.

The scholarship is such once a student starts benefiting, it goes on until the student complete the course enrolled for in the university,” added Asen Ako.