Abia Industrial and Innovation Park (AIIP) located in Owaza, Ukwa West Local Area of the State stands as the most ambitious and audacious project of the Otti administration which, on completion, has the potential of boosting the industrial and economic fortunes of the State.
By Emeka Nwosu
The governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure a total industrial and economic transformation of the State. The good thing is that no part is being left behind. Mega works and projects of high net worth are being carried out simultaneously across the three senatorial zones of the State.
In the commercial city of Aba which falls within the South Senatorial Zone of the State, Governor Otti has done so much to rewrite the unpalatable story of the Enyimba City, which suffered gross neglect and abandonment under the successive administrations led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In the last one year, he has undertaken extensive reconstruction of all the dilapidated roads and other major public infrastructure in the town, including the critical Port Harcourt Road and Abia State University Teaching Hospital.
In the Abia Central Senatorial Zone, the expansion of the main approach road into Umuahia capital city into six lanes remains a signature project of the Otti administration. That singular project which was speedily executed and well delivered has given Umuahia a new ambience, befitting its status as a capital city.
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Within the central senatorial zone, he is undertaking the rebuilding of the Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Ohafia road which also largely falls within the Abia North senatorial district. Other major roads in the Abia North that are currently receiving attention are the Nunya-Eluama road in the Isuikwuato Local Government Area and Ndi Okereke-Ozu Abam Road in Arochukwu LGA.
The icing on the cake is the flag-off of the reconstruction and rebuilding of the Ohafia-Arochukwu federal highway that was abandoned for over three decades, cutting off the over 60 communities within the area from the rest of the State. It was so bad that the only access to Arochukwu and the adjoining communities was through Ikot Ekpene in neighbouring Akwa Ibom State. It was, therefore, no wonder that the arrival of the governor and his team at the flag-off was greeted with wild jubilation by the excited natives who shed tears of joy that government has finally remembered them.
The reconstruction of this all-important economic road has brought a lot of joy and happiness to the teeming population on that axis. The 41-Km highway is expected to be completed within 18 months.
All these roads are significant because they lie within the food producing belt of the State. When completed, they would go a long way in the economic empowerment of the various farming communities in those corridors.
But in spite of what the Governor has done in terms of opening up the State with the ongoing revolution in the road sector, the Abia Industrial and Innovation Park (AIIP) located in Owaza, Ukwa West Local Area of the State stands as the most ambitious and audacious project of the Otti administration which, on completion, has the potential of boosting the industrial and economic fortunes of the State.
The AIIP is deliberately sited at Owaza, the oil and gas-rich region of the State which is a few nautical miles away from the Atlantic Ocean.
The many firms and investors that have indicated intentions to set up shops in the Park are expected to leverage on the vast oil and gas deposits in the area to drive their enterprises.
The Park, when fully consummated, is expected to provide thousands of job opportunities for the teeming jobless youths in the State. It is against this background, that Governor Otti has expressed readiness to partner with relevant agencies and corporate bodies to ensure that the project is fully delivered.
Speaking when a delegation of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) led by the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Ogbe paid him a courtesy call in his office, Governor Otti noted that 2,000 hectares of land have since been acquired for the project. He welcomed the participation of the NCDMB which would help to push the project to reality.
“We are very happy to partner with you and you can be sure that we will do everything that is possible to ensure that this project takes off and lands successfully. So, in the next few days, you will receive our written request. But in spite of that, we will continue to what we have to do to ensure that the project continues to run until you come in to give us a push we require”.
Engr. Ogbe assured the Governor that upon the receipt of the written request, he would discuss with the Governing Board of NCDMB and return to Abia to indicate the possible areas of their interventions. Earlier in his presentation, the CEO of the AIIP, Engr. Chinedu Onyeizu explained some features of the project, its viability with the abundance of gas in Owaza, the location of the Park, the socio-economic benefits to Abia and Nigeria as a whole which includes the creation of thousands of jobs for the teeming youths in the State.
With the transformational activities of Governor Otti so far in the State, it is crystal clear that his administration is in a hurry to reposition Abia for greatness. A new Abia is indeed possible!
Emeka Nwosu PhD, a Public Policy Analyst, writes from Umuahia.
Email: cdnwosu2@gmail.com
