Nigeria Set For Gas Revolution As It Flags Off Gas Industrial Park, To Create 5 million Jobs

All is now set for Nigeria’s major gas revolution with the flag off of the Gas Industrial Park in Delta State, South South Nigeria, which will create five million jobs.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who performed the ground breaking ceremony for the Gas Revolution Industrial Parks (GRIP) in Ogidigben and the Deep Sea Port in Gbaramatu, said the project is also expected to create about 150,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.

The President said the yardstick to measure the success of the project, will be the number of jobs to be created.

The park is expected to consist of industries, which would produce fertilizers, petrochemicals, methanol and other related products. This is expected to replace the nation’s dependency on crude oil.

It will also house four well scaled fertilizer projects in Nigeria which has the potential to make Nigeria the largest fertilizer exporter in the next four years.

The four well scaled fertiliser projects in various developmental stages in Nigeria include indorama fertiliser, Dangote fertiliser, Nagajurna fertiliser and Brass fertiliser.

With this portfolio Nigeria is now positioned to be Africa’s largest producers and exporters of fertilisers within the next four years, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dieziani Alison-Madueke said adding that Indorama will start production this year while the others will follow by 2017.

The industrial project will span 30Square kilometres when finished. It will be also be developed in phases and will house common services such as a water treatment facility , a gas central facility, residential estates, amongst others.

Site activities have kicked off GRIP which will be Africa’s First Industrial Gas city is part of the three point agenda of gas to power. The three point agenda comprises of gas to power, gas based industrialisation and gas to export.

The ground breaking ceremony of the project is coming after series of postponements as a result of crisis between the Itsekiri and other tribes in the Niger Delta.

Both kingdoms (Itsekiri and Gbaramatu) had been at war over where the Deep Sea Port, which was to be christened EPZ Ogidigben would be sited.

After series of peace talks and discussions it was finally agreed that the Istekiri kingdom would habour the GRIP while the Gbaramatu kingdom houses the Deep Sea Port part of the project.

The Gas Industrial City Ogidigben and the Deep Sea Port, Gbaramatu has both been designated a free trade zone by the Federal Government.

Industries located there will benefit from incentives such as tax-free status, low land lease rates, low gas rates, simple repatriation of dividends, infrastructure, access as well as stability and growth.

President Jonathan expressed optimism that the project which is believed will be Africa’s biggest gas industrial hub, would be executed to international standard and attract many gas related industries from across the world.

In his speech, shortly before performing the ground breaking ceremony the President said it was his intention to make the project one of the world’s most desirable.

The President set up a special steering committee, headed by the minister of Petroleum Resources, which will brief the Federal Executive Council on the progress of the project every week.

He noted that the two projects were siamese twins and could not be separated. “Without both communities agreeing, this project could not have happened” he said referring to the earlier crisis and promised that having worked so hard, government will ensure the completion of the projects.

The Petroleum minister said the President had realising the transformation potentials natural gas could have on the economy, endorsed an accelerated implementation of a focused three point agenda, which aims to translate wasteful gas flares into purposeful commercial use.

The three point agenda comprises of gas to power, gas based industrialisation, gas to export. She said has so far expanded its gas infrastructure as well as grown its gas supply to a current domestic gas supply capacity of approximately 2billion cubic feet per day from approximately 300million cubic feet per day a few years ago.

The country now has sufficient capacity to support almost 5000 MW of power, now growing to almost 7000 MW.

The minister also said the products from park will provide the platform for a fully diversified economy as the manufacturing sector is poised to take off as well as kick start the geographically discussed industrialisation of Nigeria and to create unprecedented number of jobs.

“Nigerians can be assured that very shortly the full benefits of natural gas will become evident in our day to day lives as power improves, as the massive industrialisation of the nation takes off and as the resultant employment opportunities begin to blossom,” she said.

An overwhelmed Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, who heaved a sigh of relief before speaking promised that the state will take proper care of the project and jealousy guard it. He thanked the President for allowing the project to remain in the area even after all the challenges faced in the site agreement process.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga noted that this was just one of the six parks that will be replicated across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Aganga said his ministry will be in charge of driving the industrialisation activities of the park by attracting investments and implementing industrial policies. “It will also regulate all the enterprises located on the hub,” he said.

The twin projects will be jointly handled by the Ministry of Transport, Petroleum, Power as well as Trade and Investment.