Delta Government Explains Importance Of Agro-Industrial Park

The Delta State government has explained that the Joint Venture agreement between the state government, Norsworthy Investment Limited and Mirai Technology Limited to develop the Agro-Industrial Park was to create job for Deltans.

Speaking at the signing of the Joint Venture agreement, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Festus Ovie Agas, said the venture was a successful one as it is aimed at sustaining “Delta Beyond Oil”.

He said the Mr Ifeanyi Okowa-led government has identified agriculture as the state real oil, “by implication, he identified agriculture as our real oil. That is, Delta State is endowed with a lot of arable land and other natural resources and among other things; agriculture was the way to go”.

While listing the benefits to include the provision of employment for Deltans, provides technological learning through the facilities and to attract other forms of investments in and around Ogwashi-Uku and the state, he disclosed that both partners have the experience, relevant skills and training to handle the programme.

According to the SSG, “we as a state, we are very optimistic and we look forward to the successful execution of this programme”.

Also speaking, the Chief Job Creation Officer in the state, Prof Eric Eboh, told the partners that the Agro-Industrial Park was the brainchild of the governor geared towards developing agricultural value chain in the state via Agro Industrialization.

He said the governor immediately constituted an Inter-Agency Committee on 15 February 2016 to plan and coordinate the Agro-Industrial Park initiative which includes the feasibility study and preparation of business plan which were also completed in August 2016.

“The completion of that report coincided with the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of the creation of Delta State. Thereafter, the feasibility report and business plan were subjected to rigorous technical revisions and validation of the project site, profile and the business model as well as the financing plan”.

He explained that the processes were done by the Committee on Agro-Industrial Park closely with the economic management team, “and this was done to ensure financial profitability, economic viability and overall project sustainability”.

In their separate remarks, Chairman, Northworthy Investment, Chief Gabriel Ogbechie and the Technical Partners Mirai Technology Limited who was represented by Mr. Roy Tal, thanked the state governor for the laudable project.

“we consider ourselves to be privileged to be part of this project. We are passionate about investing in Delta State, we are happy that we have been chosen to key into this project of not only developing Delta State but also creating jobs for the community”, Ogbechie said.

“it is a very important moment in the launch of the Agro-Industrial Park, it is a key element in the economic reform of Delta government. The park will facilitate investments, create jobs and develop the agricultural sector. We are very proud to be partners with Delta government, it will set an example for other states in Nigeria”, Roy Tal stated.