The concessioning of the cassava bio-ethanol value chain by the Federal Government of Nigeria is expected to generate N180 billion in income within five years of active operation.
Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) states that the FEC’s approval of the project last Wednesday showed that it also aimed to partner with national agricultural research institutions and provide jobs, reduce poverty, improve food security, and provide renewable energy.
It went on to say that the Executive Council had approved the National Fire Detection and Alarm System (NAFDAS) for use in the country as a whole for the efficient prevention, detection, and management of fires.
The two initiatives, which fall under the ICRC’s regulatory supervision, aim to generate N180 billion in revenue, among other things.
While the NAFDAS project will earn N75 billion in total revenue over the course of its 15-year concession, the Cassava Bio-ethanol Value Chain will do so during the course of its five-year concession.
It was made clear that the Cassava Bio-Ethanol Value Chain, which will be implemented in a pilot phase, intends to create a Bio-technology Industrial Park on a 20-hectare plot spanning 20 universities, academic institutions, and research and development organizations.
“The pilot phase, 5,000 special hybrid cassava (TME 419) stems will be planted per hectare, (100,000 stems for 20 hectares),” the statement continued. The initiative will also provide knapsack sprayers, pre- and post-emergent herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and organic fertilizers, boosters, and conditions.
With improved tropical agro-ecology, biotechnology, intense mechanization, and efficient resource mobilization partnerships, Nigeria can double output to 120 million metric tons in 5 years. The project also aims to increase cassava production from the current 62 million tons to over 120 million tons.
This cassava-bioethanol pilot project’s main objective is to illustrate the effectiveness of a private sector-led strategy for encouraging investment in renewable biomass and generating wealth, jobs, and reducing poverty while also enhancing food security and nutrition, supplying renewable energy, and lowering carbon footprint.
The Federal Government is proposing to fund the project with a grant, and concessionaires are proposing to invest N11.9 billion in the project. Sales of cassava stem, cassava flour, garri, starch, and bioethanol are all included in the project’s proposed revenue stream.
The five-year concession period will bring in a total of N105,610,000,000.
The NAFDAS project seeks to deliver technology, software, and equipment for fire mitigation that will be connected to a cloud network under the supervision of the Federal Fire Service via a private organization.
This technology will greatly cut the call and response times for fire events, prevent needless occurrences, save more lives and property, and generally increase the effectiveness of fire prevention, detection, and management.
This entails connecting smoke alarms and other fire detection hardware to a server, which will notify the system when a user is in trouble without requiring them to call for assistance.
Before expanding to all other states in the nation, the project will start as a pilot with 7 of the federation’s states.
The project’s total estimated cost is N3.5 billion, but the government expects to make N75 billion in revenue during the course of the concession’s 15-year term.
40% of the subscription revenue totaling N17,262,850,871 (or an average of N1,150,856,724, for the 15-year proposed concession period) was estimated to go to the government.
The project’s proposed income stream includes annual subscription fees from service customers and margin on installations.
Both projects are to be carried out in accordance with ICRC regulations, with revenue being split between the Federal Government and the concessionaire in accordance with the concession agreement.
