Chinedu Eze
9 November 2005
Abakaliki — Ebonyi State government has reached agreement with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to build power plant that would utilise rice husk and fire wood to generate energy and boost industrial activities in the state.
Governor Sam Egwu stated this in Abakaliki during the presentation of Assessment Report on Sustainable Energy in Ebonyi State by UNIDO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. David Tommy.
Egwu said the collaboration would add value to the lives of the people and promised to give it all the necessary political support to succeed.
The governor implored the Committee on UNIDO projects in the state to ensure that there were no hitches on the way of completing the projects, noting that there should be a time-table for the implementation of the projects to enable him know stages of the projects' completion.
He expressed the hope that by the time UNIDO brought other partners into the venture, Ebonyi State would have excelled in that sector.
In his remarks, Tommy said the interest of the organisation in Ebonyi State was because past programmes in the state carried out by the world body achieved so much with little resources.
Tommy attributed this success to Egwu's leadership qualities, which he said, included total commitment to what he does, his focus and determination to move the people from obscurity to the lime-light.
UNIDO representative said the organisation would collaborate with the state in the area of capacity development, noting that this would cover areas of information technology, rural and industrial energy development as well as agro-waste value addition sector.
The state Commissioner for Public Utilities, Mr. Reginald Onwe, told the governor that UNIDO has established the sustainable energy planning cell for Ebonyi, adding that a feasibility study on the conversion of rice husk to electricity has been programmed to commence in the state.
He thanked UNIDO for choosing the state as a pilot scheme out of 34 identified salt lakes in Nigeria and gave assurance that the state would remain top in its programmes in Nigeria.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2005 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
