Cabinet in the next two weeks will choose a strategic investor to partner government to operate the US$20 million Aveyime Rice Project.

Cabinet sub-committee tasked to make the choice will pick one of two short-listed strategic investors.

This was made known by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Dr. Gyiele Nurah in a chat with the Business & Financial Times newspaper on Monday.

The prospective strategic investors are Messrs Integrated Rice Company and Messrs Prairie Texas Inc., whose technical and financial proposals are being considered by the Cabinet sub-committee.

The choice of the investor paves the way for the reactivation of the multi million dollar facility which has been lying dormant ever since ministers of the previous administration were tried and jailed for causing financial loss to the state some six years ago.

In September, 2006, the Ministerial Tender Committee invited firms to submit technical proposals for consideration.

The rice mill, reputed to be the largest in Africa, has been operational under an Interim Management Committee (IMC) milling rice at a limited capacity from locally manufactured rice.

Source: B&FT