FIRST ABIA MODULAR REFINERY TO BEGIN PRODUCTION NEXT YEAR
Abia State Government has announced that its modular refinery being built at the Abia Industrial Innovation Park (AIIP), Owaza, in Ukwa West LGA will come on stream in 2025.
The State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu disclosed this while briefing the press along side some other members of the Executive Council on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti. He said it is a project that is important to the Alex Otti led government and every effort is being put to ensure that the date will be met,
“The modular refinery project of Abia industrial Innovation Park will come on stream in 2025. It will be the first major industrial project of that industrial park. Of course, once that refinery comes on stream , it would provide job opportunities to the teeming youths in excess of about two thousand jobs. These are direct jobs ,when you want to talk about the indirect jobs , it would run into thousands as well. It would help provide refined products for Abians as well as increase the revenue base of the State.”
The Commissioner said that the State government is making efforts to reap from the huge opportunities provided by the petroleum and mineral resources endowment in the State , saying that “in this regard, a lot of investors are jostling to come and invest in Abia State.”
Contributing, the Commissioner for Petroleum, Professor Joel Ogbonna said the new Government has been in a hurry to bring transformation through the establishment of the industral innovation park. He said,.
” About two thousand hectars of land has been acquired in Owaza. Before now, many of us didn’t know that we had oil and gas in Abia State even though this has been a curse rather a blessing to Abia because of bad governance of successive governments. Right now, we want to convert those wastes to wealth”
According to Prof. Ogbonna, the modular refinery “presents a huge opportunity for job and wealth creation and of course, we are taking advantage of the natural endowment which we have not taken advantage of before now.
