Delta Woos Investors To Boost Renewable Energy, Agric, Trade And Investment
By IFEANYI OLANNYE
DELTA Government says it would channel efforts and resources to boost investment in power and energy, agriculture, solid minerals, trade and investment to create employment and empower its people.
The State Economic Team, led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Kingsley Emu disclosed this at a press conference in Asaba on Tuesday.
In the team are the Commissioners for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, Agriculture, Mr. Val Arenyeka and Trade and Investment, Mr. Samuel Oligida and the Chief Economic Advisor, Dr. Barry Gbe.
The team said that the search for investors would begin on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at a strategic investors meeting in Abuja and subsequently advance the search in Brazil where they would market the state potentials particularly in the renewable energy sources, agriculture, trade and investment.
The SSG, Dr Emu, said that Delta has become the epic and attraction to investors and that people migrate daily from across the country to the state because of the huge infrastructure, particularly roads network and security.
He said that the state government would continue to construct new roads to bridge the existing deficit in roads infrastructure in the country.
He said: “the state none oil GPD is about 55 percent, the state is growing organically, and one of the indices is the skyrocketing accommodation rent”
The SSG said that with the Power Sector reforms that saw the sector moving from the exclusive to concurrent lists by the National Assembly, Delta has positioned itself to invest in both fossil fuel and renewable energy to provide electricity to its residents even in the rural communities.
He said that the trip to Abuja and Brazil remained critical to the state government to enable it change the narratives in the power sector, agriculture, trade and commerce to create employment and empower the people by putting monies into their pockets.
On his part, the Commissioner for Public Information, Aniagwu, said that the trip would avail the state government opportunity of meeting with the real investors.
He added that in spite of the huge investment in infrastructure and other sectors of the state economy, the government remained solvent.
He said though investors had come to the state over the years but the state with its great potentials: two functional airports and four river ports, good roads network, security and other infrastructure, more investors should come to invest in the state.
“We are solvent and we also want our people to be solvent.
“So, our government is taking further decisions to make funds available to our people by bringing in investors to open up other corridors having created the enabling environment on account of infrastructure we have built over the years.
“We will be heading to Abuja on Wednesday for interactions with critical stakeholders and after that, we will also be heading to Brazil with a view to giving vent to what we have done before by creating the enabling environment,” Aniagwu said.
On his part, the Economic Adviser, Dr Gbe, said the trip to Abuja would avail the state government opportunity of meeting with Rural Electrification Agency (REA) at a roundtable with critical investors.
According to Gbe, it will enable the state explore and workout ways to implement the Distributed Access to Renewable Energy Scale Up (DARES) project in rural communities across the state.
Also, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Arenyeka, explained that meeting with REA in Abuja would encourage the use of renewable energy in Cassava processing in the state while the state would tap into Brazilian expertise in agriculture to develop the sector.
According to Arenyeka, Delta has great potentials in cassava, rice, tomatoes, animal husbandry among others that if developed will boost the state economy and empower its people.
Speaking, the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Oligida, said that the state has an industrial policy for investors and that the security architecture in place has ensured peace for investors to come in and invest.
He noted that Delta offered a big market for diverse products from various investors, adding, “We have solid minerals: coal among others are available for investors to invest in.”
“So, our going to Brazil is to woo investors to our state and to showcase our potentials to the investors. It will be a harvest of investors to Delta. We have the industrial policy which every investor wants to lay its hands,” he said.
(NAN)
