MEDIATRACNET
The Ogidigben Gas Industrial Revolution Park will impact positively on the Nigerian economy by alleviating the crisis in the Niger Delta region, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has said has said.
The Minister who spoke on Tuesday at the inauguration of the reconstituted Steering Committee and Technical Working Group of the Park Project said the facility was initiated in the country’s strategic national interest.
Sylva said it was important for Nigeria to continue to build Investors’ confidence, attract foreign direct investment as well as give Ogidigben Gas Industrial Revolution Park the level of Executive Leadership required to positively impact on the country’s economy.
The Park, the Minister explained, was conceived to be Africa’s largest Gas City and would host Fertilizer, Petrochemical, Aluminium Smelters, Methanol Plants and many secondary industries that would generate thousands of employment opportunies.
Membership of the Steering Committee included the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva – Chairman, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa – Co – Chairman, Managing Director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Adesoji Adesugba – Secretary; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Gabriel Aduda – Member, and Director (Upstream), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Kamoru Busari- Member.
Others include Group Chief Executive, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kolo Kyari – Member; Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko – Member, and Executive General Manager, Alpha Grip Management Company (AGMC), Sheikh Mohamed Bayorh – Member.
The Technical Working Group has the following persons as members. They include Justice Derefaka, Technical Assistant to HMSPR (Gas Policy and Business Implementation) as the Project Leader; Gregory Fulus Zi, Director, Legal Services (MPR)/Legal – Technical Working Group; Alpha Grip Management Company (AGMC) Representative(s), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) Representatives (Technical and Legal), Nigerian Export Promotion Zones Authority Representatives (Technical and Legal), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Representatives (Technical and Legal), and Delta State Government Representatives.
The Minister said due to their busy schedules, he and the Co – Chairman may not be able to give the Committee full attention. He therefore asked the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources to take full charge of the Committee and ensure the they delivered on their Terms of Reference (ToR).
The Director, Upstream, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Busari Kamoru said the Ogidigben Industrial Gas Revolution Park project started during the administration of former Minister of State, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu with the constitution of the Steering Committee and the Technical Working Group of the project.
Busari said the project implementation agreement which was in the process of being executed, was stalled due to unanticipated developments.
He expressed optimism that the reconstituted Steering Committee would see to the actualization of the Project.