The governor said it was sad that Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, once revered as an established commercial centre in Nigeria, has lost its shine.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has enumerated the steps his administration has taken to revive the state's economy.
Mr Fubara, who spoke on Wednesday when he declared open the two-day Rivers Economic and Investment Summit, said it was sad that Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, once revered as an established commercial centre in Nigeria, has lost its shine.
"Historically, Rivers State, especially Port Harcourt, was an established commercial centre in Nigeria. The Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout hosted several thriving commercial and industrial concerns that created income, jobs, and prosperity for our State and people.
"Sadly, all that is now history as most of the industrial ventures in that estate have either closed shop or become moribund. The industrial estate is now characterised by abandoned factory buildings and warehouses," Mr Fubara said.
He said the oil-rich Rivers has since lost its rating as one of the industrialised states in Nigeria and competitiveness as a preferred destination for domestic and foreign direct investments, and that the situation had resulted in the continuous posting of low economic growth, high unemployment rate, and slow development.
"For decades, the Rivers State Government had continued to depend more on allocations from the federation account to fund its expenditures because tax revenues had remained low due to low investments and economic growth."
What we're doing to turn things around
Governor Fubara told the audience at the summit that his administration, two weeks ago, launched a N4 billion matching fund loan scheme with the Bank of Industry Limited for small, micro, and medium-scale businesses to drive financial inclusion and enhance growth and development.
The loan scheme, he said, would grow Rivers' economy, and create jobs and wealth for the people.
The governor said his administration, which will be one year old on 29 May, has approved the establishment of the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency to provide one-stop-shop investment services and facilitation to investors in the State.
"In the first year of our administration, we received an appreciable number of expressions of interest from local and foreign investors to invest in diverse sectors of our economy, including agriculture, real estate, power generation, and manufacturing.
"We have signed a development agreement with TAF Nigeria Limited for the construction of 20,000 mixed houses in the Greater Port Harcourt City. We signed another agreement with Gosh Nigeria Limited for the construction of an international spare parts market. The State government provided hundreds of land as its equity and work has since started at both sites."
Continuing, Mr Fubara said, "Apache Aluminium LLC of America has started the acquisition of land to establish a multi-billion-naira aluminium rolling mill (plant) in the Ogoni axis of Rivers.
"We have opened discussions with Imagine Adama Agricultural and Technology of Israel to support the State in developing our huge agricultural potential, including reviving abandoned agricultural projects and infrastructures such as the Rivers Songhai Farm, the School-to-land farms, fish farms, feed mills, oil palm estates and poultry farms across the State. We have earmarked about 10 million USD for this project this fiscal year."
New city, mangrove forest conservation
Governor Fubara said the Rivers State Executive Council, last week, approved a proposal to build a new city - New Port City - in the state on about 1000 hectares of land in collaboration with the Greater Port Harcourt City Authority.
The proposal for the new city, according to the governor, was presented by Rainbow Heritage Group, a real estate firm.
"We have also concluded arrangements for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Planet One Holding Limited of Dubai for a 10,000,000 USD Mangrove Forests Conservation and Carbon Capture Project under the Private Public Partnership arrangement," the governor said.
"As a State, Rivers State is blessed with enormous human and natural resources, including oil and gas, fertile soil, solid minerals, and an extensive coastline with great water bodies.
"The State is the centre-point of the oil and gas industry in West Africa. We account for over 40% of crude oil production onshore in the country and 100% of liquefied gas that the country exports.
"The State also is the second largest economy in Nigeria, and with a nominal GDP of over $28.4bn, the State's economy ranks in the top 25 economies in Africa comparable to countries like Botswana, Rwanda, and Gabon.
"The State has a relatively robust infrastructure, including good roads, two seaports, an international airport, and a free trade zone, and with a population of over seven million indigenously diverse, educated, highly hospitable people, and a business-friendly environment, Rivers State stands at the centre of diverse economic opportunities.
Investment opportunities
Governor Fubara spoke of the investment opportunities in Rivers and appealed to investors to come to the state.
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He said his administration has prioritised peace and security and has focused on growing the Rivers' economy through partnerships and collaborations in line with the belief that it is the private sector, not the state government, that grows the economy, creates jobs, and guarantees wealth and prosperity for the people.
"Rivers State provides several investment opportunities across diverse sectors of our economy, including oil and gas, agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, hospitality and tourism, education, ICT, and healthcare, infrastructure development, glass products, and garments production, and power generation and transmission, to mention a few.
"With over 40% of fertile cultivable landmass, Rivers State has the potential to make a significant contribution to national food security with commercial investments in mechanised agriculture and the agro-processing industrial value chains.
"Several state-owned but moribund companies, farmlands, and business infrastructure, including oil palm estates, rubber plantations, poultry, and fish farms are available for interested private investors to take over and revitalize. Additionally, Rivers State presents lucrative opportunities for the commercial production of highly valued cash crops for the export market," the governor said.
A former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, chaired the summit.
