Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has performed the ground-breaking for a 400 megawatts power generating plant designed to provide uninterrupted electricity.
The combined cycle power plant is located at Ekrokpe/Ekrejegbe, Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.
The governor said that the state would soon become a hub for investors in the gas sector.
“We are glad as a state that we will be a hub for power generation because of the peaceful nature of our state and huge deposit of gas.
“The Nigerian government has continued in her struggle to provide energy for development and for home services in our country.
“But we know we are faced with challenges and with the private sector becoming more interested in generating energy, there is great hope that the energy need of this country would be catered for in the nearest future,” he said.
Okowa said that with the increase in the number of energy generating companies, it was important for the distribution companies to see that Nigerians were satisfied.
He charged the host communities to maintain their peaceful dispositions and urged them not to demand so much from the company.
The governor, however, appealed to the company, Onose TBEA Energy Limited, to meet its social corporate responsibility to its host communities.
He said that adhering to such responsibilities would ensure that youths from the area were engaged in the construction work of the plant and were also employed when the company commences its operations.
Earlier, the Chairman, Onose Tbea Energy, retired Gen. Alexander Ogomudia, in an address said that power was essential in the development of any nation, adding “without power, we will be wasting our time in terms of development”.
He said that though the company was commencing operations by generating 400 MW of electricity, the target was to contribute 2,000 MW of electricity to the national grid in full operation.
The Company’s Managing Director, Mr Jim Elueni, lauded the state governor for giving approval to the project without delay.
“The Governor, Sen. Okowa in appreciating the importance of this project to his state, wasted no time in granting us all approvals that arrived at his desk in the pursuit of this laudable project,” Elueni said. (NAN)
