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By Madu Obi
The chairman of the Nigeria -Burundi Business Council and a chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Sir Paul Chukwuma has predicted that with the take off of the Geometric Power plant in Aba, Abia State, the economic renaissance of the South East has begun.
Speaking when he visited the plant, Chukwuma, who is also the Pro Chancellor of Olovia University, Burundi and a governorship aspirant in Anambra State, observed that the increase in power supply would also revive manufacturing in the South East geopolitical zone.
He envisaged a situation where the South East would become a bastion of manufacturing in the next 10 years and urged the governors of the zone to work in synergy to make it a reality.
Chukwuma said he was on a study visit to the plant to understand its working principles and business model and seek technical advice on how to replicate the same in Anambra State.
In an interactive session with the chairman of Geometric Power Plant, Prof Barth Nnaji and the members of his management team, Chukwuma praised his vision and steadfastness in seeing the project through.
He said: "I want to commend you for your commitment and perseverance to this project despite the litany of challenges. It shows unbridled love for nation-building.
"Staying for 20 years on this project despite the challenging business climate and various commercial litigation is a testimony of your commitment to the progress of Ndigbo and Nigeria.
You have done a noble act by providing an empirical proof of concept for others, having set in motion a chain reaction with an enormous positive loop for our country.
"The effect of this project on the economy of Aba and by extension the South East, will be far-reaching. The expected result is that many businesses will move into Aba to utilize this reliable energy, especially manufacturing businesses.
When this happens we expect to see the unemployment rate in Aba and its environs drop alongside youth restiveness."As an entrepreneur from Umueri in Anambra State, my visit to your facility partly finds an expression in the biblical invitation to Apostle Paul to come over to Macedonia for help.
There is no gain -saying the fact that Anambra is losing its position as a commercial centre due to the absence of reliable energy such that many industries have gone under and the remaining few are struggling to survive.
"The bold steps you have taken to ensure reliable energy in the ring fence is an indication that there is light at the end of the tunnel."
Against this background, I seek for partnership between your companies and the manufacturing arm of our group of companies.
"While we may be tempted to seek relocation of some of our ongoing manufacturing installations from Anambra to the Geometrics Power ring fence, we also know that this can be replicated in Anambra State so that many more businesses can benefit and the effects sync with that of Aba to give an ultra boost to commerce in the South East and perhaps, produce the "Asian Miracle" for Nigeria."
In his speech, Nnaji gave a rundown on the project history, stating that the project took him 20 years to complete due to lots of man-made bottlenecks, adding that the ideal completion date ought to be three years.
" I began this project in 2004 and by the time I became a Minister in 2011, almost everything was ready. In truth, it was on the strength of what we have done here that I was invited to become a Minister. Various issues came up and the project took two decades to get completed," he said.
He explained that the Aba Power plant consists of three companies, adding that one generates power and sells to the transmitting company, which in return, sells to the distribution companies.
According to him, the power plant is focused on improving knowledge by employing lots of local staff who work seamlessly with expatriates from various countries.
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