(Ecofin Agency) - The Federal Government of Nigeria is working on a policy under which $50 million will be set aside to fund and encourage investment in the production of biofuels in the country. Deputy Director of the Research Department at the CBN, Lawrence Odey, who spoke on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), disclosed this in Abuja at the National Capacity Building and Sensitization Workshop on Biofuels.

CBN said the fund would fall under the Biofuels Equity Investment Fund (BEIF). The apex bank said the BEIF would be conjointly financed by parastatals of the Federal Government and development banks, including the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and Development Bank of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu (photo), biofuels would soon become a major foreign exchange earner for the country.

“Industrialized countries like USA, Brazil and other countries across Europe have been producing and utilizing biofuels. I believe we should look in that direction, knowing that the biofuels industry has huge investment potentials likely to create opportunity for large, medium and small scale investors,” Kachikwu explained.

Anita Fatunji