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From Scholastica Hir Makurdi
Benue State Government is set to revive the moribund Taraku Mills Limited, an agro-processing facility valued at over N70 billion.
The Group Managing Director of the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, made this known during an inspection tour of the facility in Taraku, Gwer East Local Government Area (LGA), on Friday.
He said the move is aimed at boosting industrialisation, creating jobs and expanding markets for farmers across the state.
According to the GMD, the factory, which has remained dormant since 2009, still retains most of its equipment in near-new condition despite years of inactivity, even as the state government is currently conducting a comprehensive asset audit to determine the level of investment required to restore the plant to full operation.
Asemakaha commended the host community and security personnel for safeguarding the facility from vandalism, noting that unlike many abandoned public assets across the country, and in Benue in particular, the Taraku Mills complex had remained largely intact.
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He disclosed that technical experts, including former staff with institutional knowledge of the plant, would begin detailed assessments and dry-run tests to evaluate the functionality of the machinery and chart a path for its revival.
The BIPC boss emphasised that reviving the existing facility would be more cost-effective than constructing a new one and would provide a ready market for agricultural produce such as maize and soybeans.
He noted that the plant could directly employ over 2,000 youths while generating thousands of indirect jobs in farming, transportation, logistics and other supporting sectors.
He also announced that the government would immediately clear five months of outstanding allowances owed to security personnel guarding the facility and urged them to keep up the good work.
Speaking during the visit, pioneer mechanical engineer at the facility, James Ikuve, described Taraku Mills as a fully integrated agro-allied processing company with separate maize/feeds mill and oil processing divisions.
