09/12/2011 (Awoko) - The Director of SIVA Group Bio Palm Star Oil Sierra Leone, Suresh Mangu, has said that the company plans to open a state of the art factory for the processing of Palm Oil to be sold on the local market. The Indian-based company is currently nursing over a million Palm kernels in Mange and Pujehun Districts with plans to extend it to other parts of the country.

SIVA Group Bio Palm Star Oil Sierra Leone’s investment was facilitated by the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) in a bid to promote foreign direct investments in the country.

He also said that the company plans to train locals in agri-business. Suresh Mangu also said that the company will be undertaking production locally to meet the demand of the local market before exporting products to other countries in the region. The Country Director of SIVA Group Bio Palm Star Oil Sierra Leone, Tommy Harding, said the company will also be using locally made fertilizers from coconut trees which, he said, expedites the maturity of palm trees from one year to six months.

Additionally, the Country Director stated that his company will train and employ locals at the factory and will also partner with local entrepreneurs for business development in their operational areas.

The SIVA Country Manager, Hardy Tommy, said the project will be beneficial to communities of operations.

He said bio-energy will be produced to provide regular power supply to communities where the company operates in every part of the country. The SIVA Group Country Director said his group is investing in agriculture in Pujehun, Port Loko, Kenema, Bo as well as in other parts of the country.

He said the project has acquired over 200 hectares of land for the cultivation of Palm plants seedling, adding that his venture is set to be a flagship agricultural investment in Sierra Leone, as his group has already rolled-out over one million seedlings across the country.

Executives of a bio-palm kennel industry, SIVA Industries and Holdings Limited, with a flagship venture in bio-Palm ventures in the country- Bio-Palm Star Sierra Leone Limited, met President Koroma in September to outline its investment plans in the country.