Everything has been put in place for the inauguration of the Agro Processing Zone in Minna, Niger State, and the re-commissioning of the Minna Airport by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State, made the disclosure in Minna, during an inspection of work at the airport, as well as Agro Processing Zone ready for commissioning on Monday by the president.
Bago stated that as rehabilitation of the airport is 99 percent completed, with only the clean-up remaining, the state is now positioned to play a major role in the North-Central aero hub.
He said tgat about 1,000 hectares of land is ready for use, adding that engineering works for drip irrigation for green houses, expected to be the biggest in Africa, has reached advanced stage.
Gov. Bago explained that special agro-processing zone in the airport will process fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, to be transported to across Nigeria and for export.
He said that aside the 1,000 hectares, there is another 1,000 hectares on the other side of the aisle that will be used for diary products and exported to other states and across the world.
“On this other side of the land, there is another one 1,000 hectares where we are going process dairy products.
“The meat and everything leaving here will be moved to the rest of the world; we sell an average of half a million cattle to Nigerians and outside Nigeria daily.
“So, I will have to redirect it in a way that you don’t need to transport these cattle at all and in Niger State you can take the meat that is processed and frozen to any part of the country and abroad and doing so will create employment, and increase the value agro change.
“This is a free zone and in a free zone and we are very ambitious to expand the 2,000 hectares of land around the airport to 10,000 hectares. We are starting from the 2,000 and we will keep going.
“We are constructing about 140 kilometres of water irrigation to this place from Shiroro Dam and you can see our partners from outside the country almost completing the work.
“This project is an ambitious 50-year programme, but the first phase will be completed in the next couple of years so that Mr. President can commission it.
“We are bringing in 80 Megawatts of power to this airport, with investments to Niger State. We plan to give a morotarium of what we call “power holiday”, during which they will get power free for industries who want to set up here.
“We are asking for 13% derivation from the four hydro dams in our state from the federal government.
“Niger State has strategically positioned itself now to become Nigeria’s water reservoir so that the overflow from all these dams and rivers can be stored for irrigation and we plug them during crisis.”
The NUJ President, Chief Chris Isiguzo, while speaking during the tour, said: “I learned about this airport several years ago, but at some point, I also learned that it had gone terribly down, and coming here today to see the massive transformation that is on-going in this place speak volumes about the commitment of the present administration in the state.
“If you go around the airport, you can see that it can compete with any other airport in Africa through the hardwork and vision of the governor to embark on this massive work.
“We have looked at the Governor’s idea of putting in place an agro-processing zone, a free trade zone. It is a very great idea. This way, the consumption of red meat, blood meat would have been a thing of the past.
“Before now, we were dependent on oil. There is a need to diversify and that is what the governor has done by focusing on agriculture.”
