Turkey's Sur International Textile is set to produce uniforms for the Nigerian Army as it plans to revive a textile factory in Kaduna, Nigeria, the Turkish language daily Dünya reported.
Sur International, in cooperation with the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), a local consortium, will invest and resume production at the Kaduna Textile Limited, which was shut in 2002 following a financial crisis in 2000. Kaduna Textile, once a major manufacturer in Nigeria, was founded in 1957 and employed more than 5,000 people.
The initiative came as Nigeria, Africa's the most populated country, plans to revive some of its old textile factories that have fallen into disuse or have been closed due to financial or energy crisis.
For the project, the Nigerian government has formed a consortium, of which 45 percent is owned by the state, 35 is controlled by Sur International and the rest 20 percent is owned by the facilities previous partners.
The consortium will reportedly invest around $15 million to revive the facility.
The factory will start operating next year and will produce uniforms for Nigerian military and paramilitary forces.
Sur International has the knowhow and experience in producing military uniforms. It has been producing uniforms for the Sudanese army for more than thirteen years. The Qatari Armed Forces also joined Sur International Investment Co. Ltd. as a partner in 2013.
