The government of Benue State has revealed its plan to begin beer production in an effort to curb capital flight to other states.
This was revealed to journalists on Tuesday by Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, the managing director of Benue Investment and Property Company.
He said that the beer’s name will be unveiled during its launch in December.
Asemakaha, who took journalists on a tour of the proposed brewery, water, and bakery factories in Makurdi, the state capital, said that the initiative to set up a brewery came as a result of recent studies showing that a huge amount of money leaves the state every month on beer consumption.
Asemakaha said the company was out to give Benue and Nigerians a high-premium quality beer made in the state using local raw materials.
He said that BIPC was not in competition with any brewery company therefore, would do everything for the people to enjoy a beer with a difference.
He said, “Basically, when we came on board, we understand that the rate of alcohol consumption in the state is between N850 million per month.
“We understand that the people that are selling these beers have taken this money out of Benue State.
“So, we discovered and said no, all what we need to do is to float a new company that we can be able to observe and retain the cash flow within the system. That is why we are embarking on beer production.
“This N850 to N870 million is a monthly sale of beers in the state, and within the month of December, they have made one billion naira in sales. So, one of the things we are doing is to help retain the cash flow within the system.
According to the MD, the estimated production capacity is 180,000 bottles per day, and the fermentation period is 15 days.
“We will crash the price of beer in the state, but we are not going to compete with them (other breweries). We want to retain the cash within us. It is our own thing. So, the people here, our brothers and sisters, should be able to key in and take our products,” he said.
While stating that raw materials will be locally sourced, Asemakaha stated that the factory would commence full production by the first week of December.
“What we want to do is that this season, we want to give people seedlings so that we can go back to production and take those products from them to plant and harvest,” he added.
The managing director said that the brewery project would cost between ₦700 and ₦800 million, just as he expressed assurances that the amount would be sourced.