Nigeria’s first oil and gas industrial park is set for business in Odukpani, Cross River state. Built by the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the purpose-built Industrial Park is conceived as a one-stop, all-inclusive hub for the production of components used in the oil and gas industry.
Dr. Ginah O. Ginah – General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination Division NCDMB, disclosed this on Thursday during a media tour of the park located in Odukpani, Cross River State.
According to Ginah, “This park is ready for habitation,” Engr Ginah said of the facility started 10 years ago. “We have already advertised for interested manufacturers and are presently going through applications to see those who are qualified.”
Ginah said that requisite facilities have been provided to make the place conducive and cost-effective for manufacturers. These include a manufacturing hall, an administrative building, security, access and estate roads, 24-hour power supply, a banking hall, restaurant, and state-of-the-art ICT facilities. Others include fire service, water treatment plant, mini parks for accommodation, and free land for those who wish to build their own structures.
Ginah said noted that the self-provision of these facilities by manufacturers usually the increased their cost of production, so this park is going to crash the cost of production.
The park also has room for immediate and future expansion as Ginah said that the Odukpani facility is located on approximately 25 hectares of land.
Ginah said, to further make the park even more attractive, the Federal Government has pledged $50m to attract companies to the parks.
Ginah disclosed that several other such parks are under construction across the Niger Delta as part of NCDMB’s efforts to significantly increase local content in the oil and gas industry and generally drive Nigeria’s industrialisation.
“We have taken Nigeria’s local content level from 5% to 55%. The industry spends about $20 billion a year, so you are talking of about $10 billion saved annually,” Ginah said.
He stressed that NCDMB’s goal is to take the local content in the industry up to 70% by 2027, and “the only way to achieve that is to ensure local manufacturing of components, which is why we are building these parks.”
