FEMI ADESINA, PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S SPOKESMAN, WROTE... AWARD WINNING STUDENT WRITER VISITS (Ikponmwosa Kingsley Osamede)

The Edo State Government has said that the Benin Industrial Park (BIP) will be actualised with the government providing guarantees, land and necessary public infrastructure, while foreign and local investors will drive the project. Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget, Mr. Joseph Eboigbe, disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Benin City, the Edo State capital. He said that a lot of the investors who attended the maiden Alaghodaro Investment Summit late last year are upbeat and enthusiastic about the Industrial Park and are deploying their resources to the state. According to him, “the Benin Industrial Park (BIP) was conceived as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project. The bulk of the funds to go into the development of the park will come from the private sector. Edo state government will provide the land and key access roads linking the park and necessary guarantees to whet the appetite of local and foreign investors.” Noting that a lot of the participants at the Alaghodaro investment summit have expressed interests to invest in the state, particularly the industrial park, he said, “the state government has taken note of investors who are ready to hit the ground running and has given them the needed attention. We are processing their expressions of interest. “This year, we will begin to see action and as investors begin to implement their investment plans, what will follow will be jobs. People will be employed by these investors to assist them to build their industries and set up their facilities. On the outcome of the investment summit, he said, “there is a summit report put together by experts. The recommendations from the summit report are being coopted in government development plans and our medium-term sector strategy.” PHOTO CAPTION Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State