Nigeria may save $10 billion annually by promoting local content in the oil and gas sector.
This projection is the target of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, as is strives to attain 70 per cent in local content by 2027. Presently, the agency has taken
“The industry spends about $20 billion a year, so you are talking of about $10 billion saved annually,” said Engr Ginah O. Ginah, NCDMB Director of Corporate Communications on Thursday during a media tour of the park located in Odukpani, Cross River State.
The facility is Nigeria’s first oil and gas park built by the NCDMB set to open its doors for business.
“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,” he added.
He explained that requisite facilities have been provided to make the place conducive for the manufacturers. These include a manufacturing hall, security, access roads, 24-hour power supply, banking hall, restaurant anda state-of-the-art ICT facility.
Others include fire service, water treatment plant, mini parks for accommodation and land for those who wish to build their own structures.
“All these are things that increase cost of production, so this park is going to crash the cost of production,” Engr. Ginah said of the facility located on 25 hectares of land.
To further make the park attractive, the Federal Government has pledged $50m as facilitation fund to attract companies to the parks.
Engr 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.
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.”
