Rivers To Build $2.5bn Refinery In Okrika

A state of-the-art modular refinery co-owned by the Rivers State Government and a consortium of foreign firms will soon come on stream as necessary logistics have been put in place for its smooth take-off.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Energy, Hon Okey Amadi, who made the disclosure in an exclusive interview with The Tide said the  refinery is sited at Ikpokiri in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, adding that a massive land area had already been acquired for the multi-billion naira world class project.

Hon Amadi revealed that the State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the foreign investors from United States of America, Britain, Germany and South Korea with 20per cent-80per cent equity shares for the state and investors, respectively.

The commissioner explained that the project will take two years to complete, as series of meetings had been held between the state government and the investors for a smooth take-off.

On the MoU, Hon Amadi further revealed that the state government will procure the licence, site for the project, certificate of Occupancy (C of O), and provide security, while the investors will pay the money for the project.

On the licence, he said the state had reached advanced stage on the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) were tidying up the necessary documents for the project.

The investors and technical partners, the commissioner stated, had already acquired a site at the Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout, Port Harcourt where the construction of office and residential blocks are on-going.

He said the project is expected to provide over 3,000 jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and corporate citizens.

The Energy Commissioner also disclosed that the state government will soon build a liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant at Alode-Eleme, saying that the issue of producing natural gas in Rivers which is transported and refined in Lagos and finally brought back to Rivers State at a higher rate is no longer acceptable by the Amaechi-led government.

According to him, at the completion of the refinery and LPG project, the problem of scarcity of petroleum products will be a thing of the past.

Hon Amadi noted that TSL Logistics, the contractor and other stakeholders from the affected communities comprising chiefs, youths, women, Community Development Committee (CDC), Federal Ministries of Environment and Petroleum Resources will meet on Friday, this week to fine-tune the logistics for smooth take-off of the projects.

He affirmed that the refinery and LPG projects were part of the state government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives aimed at launching the state in the oil and gas hub of Nigeria, adding that the state will witness an economic eldorado in the next few years.

Rivers people will, indeed, feel the positive impact of these projects and programmes which Amaechi’s administration had embarked upon after the governor has left office, he asserted.

Goodluck Ukwe

Commissioner for Water Resources, Ms. Patricia Simon-Hart in a discussion with leader of the Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) team from the World Bank, Mr.Dominick De Waal, during a partnership meeting at the Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development in PH last week.