Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa-Ibom State has indicated that the state has concluded plans for the take-off of a Coconut Refinery Project with the signing of a partnership agreement with a South African firm, H.O Oil Food Consulting Limited.
Emmanuel who played host to the South African investors at the Government House, Uyo, said that the agreement was a major step toward his administration’s industrialization drive.
For him, it was a first step for the birth of an oil processing plant in Akwa Ibom State.
The Refinery, according to the governor, would produce both palm kernel and coconut oil. This, he added, is in line with his administration’s policy of wealth creation, employment generation and sustainable development.
He said the event marks a significant step in the utilization of abundant natural resources in the state and that the product would be exported into the international market to attract more revenue and boost the economy of the state.
He announced that fifteen thousand special breed coconut seedlings is to be airfreighted into the country within two weeks and that the technical team is expected to commence the management of the Nursery and planting of the seedlings which he said, yields within three years.
Governor Emmanuel thanked the South African firm for partnering with the state in its industrial revolution assuring that the site for the plantation and construction of the refinery have been cleared for a groundbreaking scheduled for December.
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