By Amaka Ifeakandu Lagos
Heritage Bank Plc and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the N2 billion long term facility, under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) given to Triton Aqua Africa Limited (TAAL) has continued to boost job creation. Th e Managing Director of Heritage Bank Plc, Ifi e Sekibo, who disclosed this at the weekend, when he led a team of the bank’s senior management on fact-fi nding mission to the company’s facilities.
He said that the fund was disbursed to enable TAAL expand its aquaculture businesses- nursery/ hatchery for the production of fi ngerlings and brood stock in Ikeja; and earthen ponds for catfi sh and tilapia in Asejire, Iwo and Gambari towns in Oyo. According to him, the disbursement of the N2billion loan and the readiness of Heritage Bank to treat Triton’s application for another credit facility for the third phase expansion is part of the bank’s support to one of the cardinal programmes of the federal government’s administration, which is job creation and diversifi cation.
Speaking after the facility assessment, Sekibo said his team embarked on the visit to the company’s facility in Ikeja to ascertain the progress of work and ensure the credit facility was appropriately channeled. “I want to be sure whatever facility Heritage Bank is giving will add value in terms of cash fl ow of TAAL. If I have your cash fl ow as part of your production plan it would make it easy for me to treat your application for credit”, he stated.
Based on the bilateral agreement reached by the two parties when the credit was given, TAAL is expected to increase the production capacity of one of its nursery/hatchery unit to 15,000 tonnes at the end of the second phase of the expansion process. Th e third phase is expected to start in the next three months. Meanwhile, Sekibo expressed satisfaction with the pace at which the project was going; as he assured the company’s team that Heritage Bank would always strive to support the genuine cause by TAAL to boost the agricultural base of the nation as long as the business relationship between the bank and Triton Aqua is mutually benefi cial. Th e Chief Executive Offi cer of Aqua Group, Raju Samtani, who led the Heritage Bank delegate round the TAAL’s facilities, assured Sekibo and his team that the project would be complete as initially agreed.
