Government shifts Imota rice mill production date again

For the umpteenth time, Lagos State government has said barring any exigency, the 32-metric tons per hour Rice Mill being constructed by the state in Imota area of Ikorodu division will start operations before the end of first quarter in 2022.

The immediate past Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode had promised to complete construction of the mill before the end of his tenure. And since Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu assumed office, he had given not less than three dates for the commencement of production at the mill.

Sanwo-Olu gave the new assurance after touring the project site on Friday, saying the facility would be subjected to a pre-production test run before the end of the first quarter of next year, after which the full production capacity would be activated for rice production.

The two sections of the silos are at about 85 and 70 per cent completion.” Sanwo-Olu said construction work on the storage facilities would be completed in the next four weeks, after which major cleanup would commence across the major site in preparation for production test run.
 
When delivered, the Governor said discussion around operation mode and production process would begin. He said full production of the facility would drastically reduce prices of rice and pressure to purchase the commodity.
 
“We are very much excited with how far we have gone on the construction. We are believing that all the contractors are working collaboratively to ensure the deadlines set are met,” the Governor said.
 
The rice mill has been built with a capacity to produce 2.8 million bags of 50kg bags of rice yearly, while generating 1,500 direct jobs and 254,000 indirect jobs.
 
The state government is also developing an industrial park adjacent to the mill. The Governor said the park would have amenities that would make businesses thrive and bring returns on investment to business owners.