President George Weah has officially inaugurated the prestigious Jeety Rubber Factory, marking a significant milestone in Liberia’s industrial development.
The ceremony, which took place yesterday, in Weala, Margibi County, is a dream come true for the President, as the factory, which is worth over US$30 million, is a significant domestic investment that would not just create long-term jobs but also strongly benefit smallholder farmers and the country at large via export earnings.
Located about two hours away from Monrovia, the Jeety Rubber factory is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that is expected to specialize in the production of high-quality rubber products, including tires and industrial materials.
As of now, the factory switched on by Weah is the first phase, which focuses more on processing and exporting specifically technically specified rubber of various types — while construction of phase two which involves the local production of rubber is about to commence soon.
“The factory is expected to generate between US$40 to US$50 million foreign exchange for the government in phase one alone, which would contribute substantially to the country’s gross domestic product,” says Upjit Singh Sachdeva, the factory’s founder.
“Rubber is one of Liberia’s main commodities. Not only that, the trickle-down effect is that it creates employment for several hundred thousand people,” Sachdeva added. “This is why we are not putting up any farms. We are buying rubber from all the smallholders in the country and we need 250 tons of rubber a day. So that’s enough money going to farmers’ pockets daily.”
The President’s commissioning of the factory, however, was brief, as he had to continue his reelection campaign in Margibi County. In the process, he did not address the press despite the million-dollar facility being one of the greatest achievements of his administration.
Built-in a year, the factory phase one, which currently has a workforce of about 300, is expected to create over 5,000 direct and indirect job opportunities, providing a vital boost to the local and national economy when phase two construction commences and finishes next year as planned.
Liberia has long been known for its vast rubber plantations, yet the nation lagged behind other leading rubber producers. This gap is however expected to be bridged when phase two of the Jeety Rubber Factory becomes operational as high-quality rubber products would be produced locally for export, boosting the country’s export potential.
Smallholder farmers are also expected to greatly benefit from the factory, which needs 200-250 tons of rubber per day for operations.
“The Jeety Rubber Factory will play a pivotal role in increasing Liberia’s export capacity by producing high-quality rubber products that can be exported to regional and international markets.
“The second phase of the factory construction will begin soon and when that happens, we will be producing gloves and other assorted rubber goods for internal use and export as well and, in another year, we will start making tyres,” he says.