Coconut Refinery Berths in Akwa Ibom, to Create 1300 Jobs
- About 1300 direct jobs and 3000 indirect employment opportunities will be available by September 2021 in Akwa Ibom state
- This is courtesy of the St. Gabriel's Coconut factory in Mkpat Enin local government area of the state
- The facility is one of the numerous agricultural investments of the Akwa Ibom state government
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Governor Udom Emmanuel has announced that 1300 direct jobs and 3000 indirect employment opportunities will be available by September 2021 in Akwa Ibom state.
Governor Emmanuel made this known on Friday, May 21 while inspecting the installation of production lines at the factory.
He said the project will also provide technology transfer from the foreign experts to Akwa Ibom people while boosting the economy in the state.
Source: Twitter
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A statement sent to Legit.ng by the Akwa Ibom state government quoted him as saying:
“We should be able to troubleshoot certain things, take for example once we are not processing coconut, we should also have a production line that can process palm kernel oil without changing a pan because we are very rich in palm kernels in this region.”
He assured the Akwa Ibom people that his agricultural investments will generate raw materials to feed the factory.
While blaming the delay in completion of the project on the outbreak of Covid-19, the governor called on youths in the area to support his government’s industrialization programmes and protect the facility against hoodlums and vandals.
Conducting the governor around the coconut factory, the principal consultant, Engr Francis Uwah said, the factory will provide numerous employment opportunities, while other companies will be attracted towards acquiring the products and the by-products in the factory.
He said:
“The by-products will have further processes like the oil will be repackaged into bottles to be sold in shops and supermarkets.
“Packaging companies will come in, the chaff from the shell can be used for fuel and manure, the meat of the coconut can be used to make flour, so many multiplier effects.”
The architect building the facility, Ganze Aydingenc, said the coconut factory has a capacity of processing 300,000 coconuts per shift which will produce 66 tons in a day from three shift of production while employing 300 people to work in a shift.
Recall that Governor Emmanuel recently set modalities to commence commercial production of tomato puree - the concentrate used for making tomato paste in Akwa Ibom state.
The commissioner for trade and investment, Barr. Ukpong Akpabio gave this hint during the graduation ceremony organised for 169 youths who successfully completed training in vegetable enterprise development in the state recently.
Two months ago, Governor Emmanuel signed an agreement for the citing of a multi-billion fertilizer plant in Akwa Ibom state.
The agreement between OCP Africa, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, and the Akwa Ibom state government is expected to birth one of the biggest investments in the fertilizer production industry globally.
Source: Legit.ng
