The Hadejia Jamma’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA) has received a letter of Expression of Interest (EoI) from Al-Qaryah Agro Allied Limited for $1.295 billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for an industrial hub that will provide 100,000 jobs at the Challawa-Goje Dam in Kano.

Receiving the management of the company on Monday at his office in Kano, the Managing Director of the HJRBDA, Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi, announced that the company will be granted the right to develop, operate and manage approved agricultural activities around the dam.

However, he explained further that approved agric concessions will be based on the PPP concession framework, while the authority retains ownership and regulatory control of the dam and water resources.

Bichi, who welcomed the proposals by the company also noted that the Authority had long awaited private sector participation in PPP ventures.

“This is a major step towards unlocking the socioeconomic potentials of Northern Nigeria’s water infrastructure” he declared

Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Abubakar Nagwamatse, stated that the initiative seeks to deploy modern aquaculture and floating agriculture methods already in use in across Asia to maximise the dam’s underutilised water body.

“We plan to introduce crop production on water surfaces, alongside aquaculture and irrigation farming. This project will create at least 10,000 jobs and significantly boost food supply, which in turn will lower prices and open export opportunities” he stated.

The CEO lamented that the dam is presently not being put to its maximum use, leaving it to subsistence only small scale farming.

The project is multi-dimentional and will integrate deep-water cage agriculture, aquaponics, hydroponics, rice and fish farming, suck farming aquatic plant cultivation, flood plain irrigation and land based infrastructure, including a 150,000 metric tonn per year feed mill and a 50 million fried hatchery.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Special Assistant to the President on Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz described the Challawa-Goje Dam as a strategic investment that would enhance energy supply, boost agricultural productivity, create jobs and stimulate sustainable economic growth.