Festus Ahon
6 December 2011, Sweetcrude, UGHELLI – THE Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, West, has completed the perimeter fencing of Orheakpor Ultra-Modern Town Hall with access road.
Commissioning the project, Dr. (Mrs.) Mariam Benka-coker, Head, GMoU Team of the SPDC, said the project was part of the social responsibility of the company to its host communities, adding that the “project marks a turning point in the company’s joint Venture Corporate social responsibility providing social centre for recreational activities in our area of operation.”
“SPDC and its Joint Venture are out to invest in the area of operation. This was the reason for building the Orhoakpor Ultra Modern Town Hall and the upgrade project which we are commissioning today,” she said.
According to her, the company took into consideration the quality of work done in the Town Hall and said approval was given to the request for upgrade of the project by the community without hesitation.
Commending the community and the indigenous contractor for the quality delivery of the project, Dr. Benka-coker noted that “the Town Hall project is a good example of Shell’s sustainable community development (SCD) approach to community development, which emphasized the full participation of the benefiting community in project identification, planning, execution, operation, maintenance and monitoring.”
President-General, Orhoakpor Progress Union, OPU), Chief George Owarieta earlier in his welcome address thanked the management of the SPDC for the project and said the project was best of its kind in the Ethiope East Local Government area of Delta State.
Owarieta urged government to address the problem of underfunding in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Delta State oil Producing Development Commission, DESOPADEC.
