Al-Qaryah to transform Kano dam into $1.29bn agro-industrial hub, create 10,000 jobs

Al-Qaryah Agro Allied Ltd has expressed interest in transforming the Challawa Gorge Dam in Kano State into a major agro-industrial hub under a $1.295 billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, a move expected to create over 10,000 jobs and boost food production in the state.

The development followed a formal Expression of Interest (EOI) issued by the Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority (HJRBDA), granting the company the opportunity to develop, operate and manage approved agricultural activities around the dam under the PPP concession framework. The Authority, however, will retain ownership and regulatory control of the dam and its water resources.

The company’s management team, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Abubakar M. Nagwamatse, presented the proposal at the HJRBDA headquarters in Kano to the Managing Director, Engr. Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, and members of his technical team.

Speaking during the presentation, Nagwamatse said the project would introduce modern agricultural technologies already being deployed in parts of Asia to maximise the economic potential of the dam. He said the plan would combine crop production on water surfaces with aquaculture and irrigation farming.

According to him, the initiative would create at least 10,000 jobs, increase food supply and contribute to reducing food prices, while also creating opportunities for agricultural exports. He lamented that the dam was currently not being utilised to its full potential, with much of the surrounding agricultural activity remaining at subsistence and small-scale levels.

He said the proposed project would integrate deep-water cage aquaculture, aquaponics, hydroponics, rice-fish farming, duck farming, aquatic plant cultivation and floodplain irrigation, alongside land-based facilities. These would include a feed mill with an annual production capacity of 150,000 metric tonnes and a hatchery capable of producing 50 million fish fry.

The proposal has also received the backing of key government stakeholders, with HJRBDA Managing Director, Engr. Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, describing it as a major step towards unlocking the socio-economic potential of Northern Nigeria’s water infrastructure.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Enlightenment, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, also described the developments around the Challawa Gorge Dam as strategic investments capable of improving energy supply, agricultural productivity and job creation.

The project comes amid a Federal Government intervention in Kano’s water infrastructure.

The government has awarded a N95 billion contract for the expansion and rehabilitation of the Challawa Goje, Tiga and Kafinciri dams under a special intervention programme managed by the ecological field office. Abdulaziz said work on the Challawa Goje Dam had reached about 40 per cent completion, adding that the projects would provide more than 5,000 hectares of irrigable land, with each hectare expected to support about 20 farmers.

Meanwhile, Al-Qaryah said it was advancing the formal PPP process, with regulatory approvals ongoing. The company is preparing its Outline Business Case (OBC) for submission to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for PPP certification, while the process for obtaining a Water Use Licence from the Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC) is also underway.

The company said its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certification was being finalised, after which the required public notice would be published in two national newspapers.