The N2 billion longterm facility that Heritage Bank Plc and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave to Triton Aqua Africa Limited (TAAL) under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) has continued to boost job creation, the Managing Director of Heritage Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo, has said.
He disclosed this at the weekend while leading a team of the bank’s senior management on a fact-finding 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 fingerlings and brood stock in Ikeja; and earthen ponds for catfish 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 of one of the cardinal programmes of the Federal Government’s administration, which is job creation and diversification.
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 flow of TAAL. If I have your cash flow 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.
The third phase is expected to start in the next three months.
Meanwhile, Sekibo has expressed satisfaction with the pace at which the project was going.
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 beneficial.
