Abia State Governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has said that from now till two years, the story of economic development in Aba and Abia State will take a completely different turn.
He said that things will never be the same again in Abia and called on investors who has not concluded plans to have a presence in Aba to hasten up.
Ikpeazu said this after he inspected the facilities at the Geometric Power Project at the Osisioma Industrial Layout, a few days after the power company formerly took over the Aba Ring Fence from the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
He described the Geometric Power Project as the “fulcrum upon which the industrial development of Aba, Abia and the South East will revolve”.
The Governor assured the Chairman/CEO of Geometric Power Ltd, Professor Nnaji that the State Government will promptly construct the road leading into the plant.
Nnaji thanked the Governor for his consistent support which led to the revival of the project and recounted how Ikpeazu stood by the company and travelled with him to meet with different international institutional investors, providing the requisite support from the host state Government.
Nnaji said the project would not have seen the light of day without the support of the Abia Governor and affirmed that Abia State Government owns 5 per cent equity in the Project.
He said that currently, the entire Aba gets a maximum of 50 megawatts of power from the National Grid but that Geometric can produce 140 megawatts of electricity which is more than enough to provide steady and sustainable power to Aba and its environs.
Nnaji also said that all the required support infrastructure was in place, including the 17km pipeline that takes gas from Owaza in Ukwa West LGA to the plant and that six months from now, the plant will be commissioned for the supply of power to the people of Abia State.
Nnaji said that long before the contractual problem that led to the stalling of the project, the sum of 500 Million Dollars had already been invested in the project.
He said that Geometric Power Plant is the largest economic project in the entire South-East of Nigeria, assuring that the company was working towards building an estate for their workers within the Osisioma Industrial Layout, Aba.
EEDC Head, Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh has confirmed the formal handover of the Aba Ring Fence area (presently covered by Aba and Ariaria Districts under EEDC) to the Aba Power Limited Electric (APLE)/Geometric Power Limited.
Ezeh said that to ensure a smooth and seamless take-over process, a Transition Management team has been constituted, made up of representatives of EEDC and Geometric Power.
He said that the joint teams have started work regarding all modalities/arrangements associated with the ring-fence area, assets, liabilities, contracts, customers, as well as staff as per the Agreement between the two parties.
Ezeh also said that the transition will take place following the statutes under the Acts governing the Power Sector and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) regulations governing the EEDC and Geometric Power.
“We, therefore, wish to assure you that the interest of all our stakeholders will be adequately considered and taken care of during the ongoing transition process. We count on your understanding and shall keep you updated on further developments.
“We appeal to all our stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, unions, associates & service providers, collection agents, communities, bankers, regulators, government bodies, etc.) to continue with their support and patronage to the new management of the ring-fenced areas of Abia State and EEDC during the transition process.”
