Ehigimetor Igbaugba
The Cross River Government has announced the rollout of vibrated electric poles from its factory in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the state.
Gov. Ben Ayade made the announcement on Tuesday during a tour of the factory.
The governor said that the factory, Piles and Pylon Factory, would play a pivotal role in the rural electrification of the state.
He said that the State Electrification Agency (SEA) was already collaborating with relevant stakeholders to ensure full commencement of commercial production in the factory.
“This factory will produce all the poles and provide all the solar lighting panels that will support rural electrification programme.
“We also intend to advance it beyond rural lighting and urban lighting to get solar farms where we can generate sufficient power.
“We will use all our monopoles to provide transmission of power from the solar farms to the city,” he said.
Ayade further said that the programme would be rapid and was intended to deliver power to rural areas and semi urban areas in the state.
“So, against this background, SEA is collaborating with third parties to guarantee full take-off and production of piles and pylon in this factory,” he added.
The governor who expressed regret that the factory was heavily vandalised during the #EndSARS protest, however, said most of the vandalised equipment had been ordered.
Speaking earlier, the Interim Director-General of SEA, Mr Eric Akpo, said the products from the factory would hit the market once certification from the relevant regulatory agency was obtained.
He said: “The piles and pylon factory is very functional; we are preparing to hit the market with our poles.
“The only thing holding us back is that poles deployed for power reticulation have to be certified by the Nigeria Electricity Management and Services Agency (NEMSA).
“So we are expecting the NEMSA team to visit the factory in the coming weeks.
“Once they come, they will give us the needed certification because we have already met their specifications.” (NAN)
