Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti says his administration is working hard to bring to full operation the Moribund Star Paper Mills Aba in addition to resuscitating similar Moribund industries in Aba and other parts of the state.
Governor Otti who stated this during a facility tour in company of the EU Delegation headed by the Head of Corporation, Mr Maximo DeLuca who were in the state on possible areas of partnership, regretted that the once popular Star Paper Mill is no longer producing due to lack of power.
He urged the Geometric Power to intensify efforts in making Power available to Factory road Aba and other industrial hubs, adding that it is the vision and mission of his administration to bring back the lost glory of Aba as the industrial hub of Nigeria.
The Governor commended the management of the Aba Integrated Independent Power for progress made so far in power generation and distribution in Aba and its environs and urged the company to consider distributing its excess power to Umuahia and its environs instead of the national grid.
In his speech, the EU Head of Corporations, Mr. Maximo DeLuca said the European Union delegation was in the state to assess areas where it can partner the power company and other companies in terms of power and other areas of specialization, noting that they are targeting catalytic investments from Nigerian investors both the public and private as well as the possibility of developing different forms of franchise as well as to expand effective franchising in Abia and Nigeria.
In his speech, the Commissioner for Power and public Utilities Mr Ikechukwu Monday while noting that the state is fortunate to have the EU Delegation at the moment when their partnership is needed most, said Aba stands in the forefront of industrialization in Nigeria and the rest of the Sub-Sahara region.
Earlier, the Managing Director, Aba Integrated Power Project, Mr Ugo Opiegbe said they have an embedded power plant that is gas fired and also a distribution system that is combined with the embedded power plant and disclosed that at present one hundred and forty-one megawatts power plant has been built up and commissioned.
He maintained that the company has achieved a peak power production of over 75 megawatts, adding that they have built on the distribution side including four brand new injection sub-stations and thanked Governor Otti for his support to see to the optimal operation of the facility.
Our Government House correspondent reports that members of the State House of Assembly and other government functionaries were part of the tour.
