Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, at the weekend met with the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, to discuss the proposed Abia Innovation and Industrial Park, AIIP, valued at $1.3 billion.
The meeting was at the request of the Abia State government for the participation of NCDMB in the Abia Innovation and Industrial Park in Owaza, Abia State.
The AIIP which spans 1995 hectares, will feature industrial, commercial, and residential areas, with an estimated cost of over $1.3 billion and the potential to create thousands of jobs, aims to harness Abia State’s abundant oil and gas reserves for development.
Speaking, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, pledged the Board’s support for the Abia Innovation and Industrial Park project in Owaza, Abia State.
Ogbe said NCDMB, having completed pilot phases of its Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme, NOGaPS, in Bayelsa and Cross River States, will share its expertise to ensure the park’s success.
He announced that the Board was also developing oil and gas parks in Ikwe Community, Onna Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State; Oguta in Oguta Local Government Area, Imo State; and Ilaje, in Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State.
According to him, NOGaPS was conceived by the Board to develop facilities close to oil fields where manufacturing of oil and gas components as well as research and development can be carried out.
He said, “For the parks, the Board adopted a shared-services strategy where it provides infrastructure such as power supply and utilities such as road network, water, waste treatment, and so on for businesses that will be located on the site.
“This strategy enables manufacturers to focus on their core business of manufacturing rather than adding the role of power generation, road construction, etc to their operations.
“This model is intended to reduce the operating cost for the local manufacturers,” NCDMB said.
The groundbreaking of the AIIP was held in September 2023, and NCDMB among other stakeholders participated.
