Construction of a US$ 25M rubber processing factory in Cita, Margibi County, has begun. This comes following a groundbreaking ceremony presided over by Mr Upjit Singh Sachdeva, an Indian businessman and philanthropist.
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The groundbreaking ceremony was held only six months after the Liberian government and Jeety Rubber LLC signed a concession agreement in December of last year. Jetty Rubber is the company that will be in charge of the construction, development, and management of the rubber processing factory in Cita.
Scope of the project for the construction of the rubber processing factory in Cita
Developed on 13 hectares piece of land, the project entails the construction of a 132,000 sq ft fully prefabricated factory building along with warehouses, washing facilities, and treatment facilities. The factory building will reportedly be the largest of its kind in the North African country.
The factory will process approximately 25,000 tons of natural rubber per year. It will produce products such as tyres, hand gloves, rain boots and rubber bands. According to Mr Jeety, tyre production will begin in 2026. This is just about 100 years after Firestone, the leading rubber producer in the world, first began operations in Liberia and began exporting latex.
Acquainting farmers with the rubber processing factory in Cita
Farmers Hope Company, a local rubber company, is currently using Jeety’s land to purchase rubber from local farmers for export. The goal, Mr Jeety said is to acquaint local farmers with his facilities. This will enable the farmers to be familiar with them when construction is complete and their company is fully operational.
Henry Yallah, a senator from Bong County, works as Farmers Hope’s CEO. During the tour, he revealed that he has a one-year contract with Jeety Rubber to use the facility to buy his rubber latex from local farmers. He reportedly pays a US$1.00 annual rental fee for utilisation.
At the end of the year, he added, the arrangement will be changed to enable him to go back to the previous location.
