About 1,300 direct job and 3000 indirectly employment opportunity will be available by September 2021, courtesy of the St. Gabriel’s Coconut factory, in Mkpat Enin LGA of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Udom Emmanuel has declared.
The Governor who made this known on Friday while inspecting the installation of production lines at the Coconut Factory, expressed satisfaction at the level of work by the project contractors, VKS, noting that the project will create both direct and indirect jobs in the state.
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He said the project will also provide technology transfer from the foreign experts to Akwa Ibom people while boosting the economy in the State.
“If you check some of these units there is a combination of Asian and European technology. We still need those Indians because a lot of them will take up training our locals and they will also take part in technology transfer to our locals so our prayer is that the situation in India improves so they can be allowed to travel and interact with other people.
“We should be able to troubleshoot certain things, take for example once we are not processing coconut, we should also have a production line that can process palm kernel oil without changing a pan because we are very rich in palm kernels in this region,” he added.
He assured Akwa Ibom people that his agricultural investments will generate raw materials to feed the factory, hinting that Akwa Palm in Esit Eket will be re-activated to boost supply at the factory.
While blaming the delay in completion of the project to the outbreak of Covid-19, he called on youths in Mkpat Enin to support government’s industrialization programmes and protect the facility against hoodlums and vandals.
Conducting the governor around the Coconut factory, the Principal Consultant, Engr Francis Uwah said, the factory will provide numerous employment opportunities, while other companies will be attracted towards acquiring the products and the by-products in the factory.
The Architect, VKS construction, Ganze Aydingenc, said the Coconut factory has a capacity of processing 300,000 coconuts per shift which will produce 66 tons in a day from three shift of production, while employing 300 people to work in a shift.
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