Obiano’s Investment Drive Revs Up as Tai Business Delegation Storms Anambra

The intense investment drive of the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has had a flying start to the New Year as a strong team of international businessmen from Thailand arrives Awka, the Anambra State capital tomorrow to take advantage of the growing investment opportunities in the state.

The delegation is scheduled to arrive the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu on Ethiopian Airlines flight via Addis Ababa to be received by top functionaries of the Anambra State Government including the representatives of the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) which facilitated the trade mission.

The delegation is made up of a formidable team of 13 Thai businesses with vast interests cutting across oil and gas, agriculture, electricity generation, waste and water management, mining as well as agricultural equipment manufacturing among other interests.

The Thai businessmen will be in Anambra for a period of six days during which time they would attend a series of programmes that were specifically mapped out to provide them a comprehensive view of the investment opportunities in Anambra State and the processes involved in taking advantage of them.

They will be rubbing minds with their Nigerian counterparts on Tuesday, January 21 at the conference hall of Best Western Meloch Hotel, Awka where they will first listen to different presentations on agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, ANSIPPA, Real estate and urban development, oil and gas, waste recycling and management, tourism, Awka capital Development Authority as well as power and electricity generation and distribution.

The delegation will also get a chance to tour Anambra and gain first-hand knowledge of the terrain and what it has to offer to investors. They will specifically be visiting key locations like the Coscharis Farm at Anaku in Ayamelum Local Government Area, Ogbunike Cave in Oyi Local Government, the famous Onitsha Main Market, SABMiller Breweries, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing at Nnewi, Anambra State University at Igbariam, Orient Petroleum Plant in Aguleri and the Ufuma Irrigation Project site.

The delegation is made up of the Rayong Purify Group who is interested in oil refining, bio-diesel production with palm oil, tank farms and ethanol by cassava. There is also the S.S Furn-Tech Group which is the oldest group of furniture, particle board and plywood production and wood processing factories in Thailand as well as the Electricity Generating Authority Thailand (EGAT), an equivalent of the Nigerian PHCN.

Others include the DOS Dhammasorn Group which is interested in waste and water management, the Natawee Technology Group that manufactures agricultural equipment and machinery, the Aqua Product and Fish Supplier Group, the Waste Management and Garbage Factory, the Siam DUT KPN Mining Inter Trade Group, and the Production and Business Group which is the biggest group in the delegation.

Also on the list of the delegation is the Global Service Interlink Group (GSI), CYR Agro-Tech Center, Knowledge Education Center, Luvam Global Solutions Company, Sun Tech Seeds Company and finally the Vegetable Group and Organic Fertilizer who represent the biggest group of herbal medicine in Thailand.

The Anambra State government has made elaborate arrangements to ensure the comfort and safety of the delegation which is the very first such initiative in the New Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano is recreating.

The arrival of the delegation comes on the heels of an impressive four months of intense investment drive that led to the attraction of close to $2bn investments into Anambra State.