Flood threatens N60bn sugar investments in Niger

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has said floods, occasioned by the sudden release of water from the Kainji hydropower dam in Niger state, have wreaked havoc on the N60 billion Sunti Golden Sugar Estate (SGSE) owned by the Flour Mills Nigeria Limited.

The Council’s Deputy Director of the Public Affairs Department, Ahmed Waziri, in a statement said Sunti is among the three major players implementing the Backward Integration Programme component of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).

“The flood, which swept through the sugar estate, destroyed flood protection dykes, factory equipment, submerged cane fields, pulled down office and residential buildings and halted activities at the estate, has sadly become  a recurring decimal since the project began over five years ago.  The SGSE was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.

The Executive Secretary, the Council, Dr. Latif Busari described the situation as worrisome. “This is a huge setback for the Flour Mills of Nigeria, the sugar sector at large and Nigeria as a country as it will impede the realization of the 4,500 metric tonnes of sugarcane daily processing by the company and the 1 million tonnes of sugar production projection recently agreed with major sugar producers.”

Operators of the dam, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited in a statement, said the dam did not break and was not the cause of the major flooding as noted. It said it was only carrying out controlled release of water from the dam.