The Federal Government has endorsed a plan to build a $20 billion gas revolution industrial park in Odigigben, Delta State.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja while meeting with international investors and developers who presented the plan for the project.
The acting president, who assured of the government’s commitment to the development of the Niger Delta region, said: "The importance of this project is underlined by the presidential attention it is attracting. The Presidency is very interested.”
Osinbajo said the Federal Government, in order to demonstrate its commitment, already had a steering committee chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu.
"We are unwavering. We take the project very seriously and glad to see you are committed and ready to make several other commitments. This is a process that we intend to see happen,” the acting president said.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, said in a statement that the building of an industrial gas hub was one of the feedbacks that was received during the acting president’s visit to Delta State.
He said the park, envisaged to be a regional hub for all gas-based industries, would cover 2,700 hectares with fertiliser, methanol, petrochemicals and aluminium plants "located in the park that has already been designated as a Tax Free Zone by the Federal Government."
He said a group of international investors and developers under a consortium by Dubai-based firm, AGMC, presented the plan for the establishment of the gas park to the meeting.
Akande stated: "The consortium is made up of Fortune 500 companies like the GSE &C of South Korea, the China Development Bank, Power China and several others global operators from Asia and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle-East. Under the plan, about $20 billion would be invested to develop the Gas Revolution Industrial Park
and generating 250,000 direct and indirect jobs in the process.
"The industrial park would be a cluster for several industries in one location benefiting from an efficient, cost-competitive and abundant supply of natural gas, proximity to a deep sea port and centralized utilities, and services such as uninterrupted power, world class telecommunications and processed water.
"The park, originally conceived by the NNPC, is located about 60km from Warri, and is about 1km away from the operational base of Chevron Nigeria Limited. It will be connected to over 18 trillion Cubic Feet of gas reserves in
fields such as Odidi, Okan, Forcados, located within a 50km radius. It is equally planned that the park will be connected to Nigeria’s most dominant gas pipeline network-ELPS, enabling supply of gas to and from the park."
Kachikwu expressed confidence that the project would bring the much-needed succour to the people of Niger Delta region and the oil-producing states.
The leader of the group of investors and developers, Sheikh Mohamed Bayorh, described the project as important to resolving the Niger Delta crisis.
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