ALSCON To Restart Operations In Ikot Abasi – Ekperikpe Ekpo.
*Says Unity Key to Attracting Projects, Development to A’Ibom State.
By Enoh Blessing Outlook Media ABUJA.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon (Obongemem) Ekperikpe Ekpo has identified unity as the all-important factor that can guarantee development and progress in Akwa Ibom State.
In a media chat with journalists during the just-concluded Christmas celebration, Ekpo reiterated that Governor Umo Eno’s leadership style has enabled the state and federal governments to work together seamlessly on issues of mutual interest, putting aside differences in political affiliations.
He revealed that this collaborative governance and ambience of peace has gone a long way in making it possible to revive dormant projects in the state and attract multinational firms and multimillion-dollar investments from the federal government over the past one year.
Ekpo cited as an example, the ability to secure Jindal Group to offtake 450 million metric standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of natural gas, noting that this commitment underpins a $4 billion investment in a 10 million tonnes per annum Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) steel plant to be located at the Ibom Solutions Hub Industrial Park (ISHIP), a free zone facility in Akwa Ibom State.
He also mentioned that a historic agreement was signed between BFI Group and China National Chemical Engineering Corporation (CNCEC) to restart operations at the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State. This deal includes the revival of a 135 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant at the dormant smelter, enabling the facility to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of aluminium annually, reigniting a key industrial asset and creating jobs for Nigerians, especially from the host community.
Ekpo highlighted a promising partnership between 3W Alliance Limited and the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) to develop an international industrial park