Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh today managed over the official handing over ceremony of concessioned silos complexes to concessionaires who had developed as fancied bidders after a successful negotiation.
Speaking at the event, Chief Ogbeh stated that the Federal Government instituted the silos complexes and commodity warehouses in various parts of the country with the purposes of promoting products storage, commodity price stability and industrial supply, combining that the concession is to secure adequate management and maximum utilization of the facilities.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammed Bello Umar explained the concession of the silo as a step in the right direction, adding: “This will result in excellent and beneficial use and will assist to generate wealth for the operators, generate employment and stimulate agricultural production in Nigeria”.
Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Engr. Chidi Izuwah remarked: “These assets will now create financial value and aid the transformation of our nation as we are out to ensure that the government reap the full benefit of any public-private partnership agreement”.
The transaction process to concession the silo complexes was initiated in August 2013 by the ministry, statutorily supervised by the infrastructure concession regulatory commission (ICRC) with aid from the World Bank and the ministry of finance.
The concession term is for a period of 10 years, during which the concessionaires will operate and maintain the silo complexes under the supervision of the ministry and ICRC. The concessionaires will compensate the government through a fee structure broken down into components.
