Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Turkish firm, Sur Corporatewear, have signed an agreement on the establishment of a military and paramilitary clothing factory at the Defence Industry Complex (DICON) in Kaduna State.
The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, at the ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, said the initiative was to reposition DICON with a view to enhancing its production capabilities and start a Public-Private Partnership based on “Build, Operate and Transfer” (BOT) PPP model.
He added that the partnership expects Sur Corporatewear to develop a “Made in Nigeria” brand of textile material and accessories and also inject a total of USD13 million required to finance the enterprise.
He said, as the supervising ministry of DICON, the MOD will guarantee patronage by the Armed Forces of Nigeria, while DICON and Sur Corporatewear have also incorporated a Joint Venture Special Purpose Vehicle under the requirements of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.
He said the partnership, among others, will help to revitalize Nigeria’s textile industry through the development of cotton farms and state of the art cotton milling plants across the Northern part of the country.
It is also to provide direct employment for not less than one thousand employees without counting the numerous labour that will be employed in the value chain.
