Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said the Azura Power Plant in Benin, the state capital, has the capacity to produce almost 50 per cent of Nigeria’s 4,000 megawatts (MW).
The governor said the power plant made Edo State a hub of power generation in Nigeria.
Oshiomhole spoke on Tuesday while inspecting the Azura Power Plant at Ahor in Benin.
He said: “Let me appreciate your vision, your courage and your determination to navigate through all the technical political and social, economic, logistics issues that you have to go through to get to this level. It requires a level of confidence in our country, in our people, and confidence about our future to step out to initiate a gigantic project such as this.
“Even while you are at the state of construction, all of us are beneficiaries of that vision.
“As we have always said, and there is nobody to say it better than you, that what Nigeria needs, Edo possesses: suitable land and nature, good people that are friendly to investors. Our people are educated enough to know that this project, the Azura Power Project, has become an indigene of this community and Edo State. And like every indigene, it attracts the support it needs, whereas in some parts of the country, you have people who want to make quick money by blackmailing contractors.”
Oshiomhole added: “I am happy with what I have seen. Your choice of Julius Berger to handle the civil engineering work gives absolute confidence. I have just listened to some of the technical details. It is clear that we are in good hands. Whatever we can still do, you can take it for granted, because for us in Edo, the primary purpose of government is creating the enabling environment that gives the real private sector investors the confidence they need to locate in this state and bring fresh dollars, which you call foreign direct investment, into our country.”
At a guided tour of the project site with Governor Oshiomhole, Managing Director of the power plant, Dr. David Oladipo, noted that the project employed 400 workers, including 150 from the host community.
Oladipo said: “We have local contractors who meet the highest standard set by Julius Berger. They bring in materials and they have to be upgraded and tested. One of the commitments we have is to ensure we have real impact from the local community in terms of employment and business opportunities…”
Oshiomhole: Azura has made Edo a power generation hub
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