Enugu State Government says it will revamp the Nigergas Ltd abandoned over two decades ago to boost industrial gas and create employment for the youths in the state.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Enugu State Investment Development Authority, Dr Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, disclosed this while briefing newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting on Sunday in Enugu.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigergas NIGERGAS Limited started in May 1962 as a partnership business between the former Eastern Nigerian Government and Siad Machine Impianti Italy who supplied the plant and managed the company until the Civil War broke out in 1967.
Enugu State Government later retained ownership of the company.
Ogbu-Nwobodo said the demand for medical oxygen and industrial gas in the country far outpace the supply, hence the need for the state government to partner private players to revamp Nigergas and take advantage of the huge inherent opportunities.
He said, “The re-engineering, refurbishment, and subsequent commissioning of Nigergas is a deliberate step by the Gov. Peter Mbah administration to provide the much-needed medical oxygen and industrial gas for the South East and the entire country.
“The profitability profile, commercial and investment have been vetted with prospects of huge profit.
“We have everything on ground, and our timeline to kick off is certain. What remains is the paperwork because we already have the approval of the governor and now that of the State Exco,” he added.
He explained that the Nigergas Company, would employ over a thousand workers, when resuscitated.
According to him, the move to revamp Nigergas was one in the series of projects aimed at reviving other moribund state-owned enterprises such as Niger Steel Ltd., Sunrise Flour Mills, and the aluminum smelting company at Ohebe Dim.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Aka Eze Aka, observed that the present administration was focused on reviving all moribund industries to create economy of scale for the state.
He said the approval for the revamp of the comatose company was based on a rigorous assessment of many commercial proposals and models presented to the state, establishing a compelling business case and profitability.
On her part, the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dame Ugochi Madueke, added that revamping of the Presidential Hotel would put Enugu State in the world map as the premier destination for investment, tourism and hospitality.
“It is with great joy that I make this announcement because the hotel has been abandoned and had gone moribund over the past years.
“However, bringing it back to life will not only put our state on the world map again, it will equally create economic value-chain, market, tourism and employment for our youths,” she said. (NAN)
By Alex Enebeli
