Abia State government has disclosed that the first Abia State modular Refinery being built at Abia Industrial Innovation Park ( AIIP) Owaza in Ukwa West LGA will come on stream next year,2025 and will provide about 2000 direct job opportunities to the teeming youths of Abia State
The Commissioner for information and Culture,Prince Okey Kanu made this disclosure during a joint press briefing on the outcome of the week’s Executive Council Meeting, presided over by the Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti.
In his words,
“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.It is a project that is very important to this government and every effort is being put to ensure that the date will be met”
Continuing, he informed that the State government is making efforts to reap from the huge opportunities provided by the petroleum and mineral resources endowment in the State,adding 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 government led by Governor Otti has been in a hurry to bring transformation through the establishment of the industral innovation park.
According to him,
” About two thousand hectars of land has been acquired in Owaza. Before now, many of us did not know that we had oil and gas in Abia State even though this has been a curse rather than a blessing to Abia because of bad governance of successive governments. Right now, we want to convert those wastes to wealth” he said
Ogbonna said 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. So, I do believe that in the next couple of years, job opportunities would be huge.
“AIIP is in the position to provide over ten thousand jobs and I look forward to that ” he said.
