Ethiopian born Saudi entrepreneur Mohammed Al-Amoudi is to invest $600 million in the next to years, to produce edible oil in Ethiopia. Horizon Plantations, part of the extensive holdings of Al Amoudi, has acquired 20,000 hectares in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional to grow groundnut explained Jemal Ahmed, general manager. It is expected that the farm will be ready for planting in the coming year and its produce will be used by a processing plant in Bahir Dar planned to produce an estimated 150,000 tons of oil annually. The Horn of Africa nation imports up to 250,000 tons of palm oil a year from Malaysia, at a cost of more than $300 million, said Jemal, whose company Ahfa Pvt. Ltd. used to be one of the top five importers of the product. "We want to substitute that with this project." At full capacity, Horizon's farm, which may be ready for planting next year, should produce 150,000 tons of oil a year from a processing plant in Bahir Dar city in Amhara region, Jemal said. Ethiopia's Agriculture Ministry has transferred 100,000 hectares in Benishangul to commercial farmers as part of the agriculture project, and is offering a further 981,000 hectares, about one-fifth of the state's land. Nationwide, the government says it plans to increase a land bank that sets aside 3.6 million hectares of Ethiopia's total 110.4 million hectares for commercial farming. Last month, the Addis Ababa-based company bought Gojeb Agricultural Development Enterprise in the southern region from the government for 35.1 million birr ($2 million), Jemal said. It plans to grow bananas and pineapple for export on 1,500 hectares. Horizon jointly runs the nation's largest coffee estate, Bebeka, with the government in southwest Ethiopia, he said. Al-Amoudi's companies also won bids for four other state- owned enterprises, including the nation's largest orange-grower, Upper Awash Agro-Industry Enterprise, Privatization Agency spokesman Wondefrash Assefa said March 29. Earlier, Derba Group, formed from three Ethiopian companies owned by AlAmoudi, plans to invest $3.4 billion in seven industrial projects over the next five years Besides, another company owned also by Al-Amoudi, the National Mining Corp., said it found gold deposits in southern Ethiopia that may produce at least 10 metric tons a year, almost doubling national output. Exploration conducted over 15 years shows the Okote site in Ethiopia's Oromia region has more than 550 tons of gold, of which 73 tons may be ready for extraction within 24 months, Chief Executive Officer Melaku Beza said last month. The company plans to invest $150 million in the initial phase of production, he said.
