Cross River Governor Ben Ayade has signed a pact with a Dubai based firm, Skipper Seil, to provide 100kva solar lighting generating system.
He also signed another agreement for a 26 megawatts gas power turbine at the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resorts.
As part of the agreement, there will be a training of trainers at the Institute of Technology and Management in Ugep.
At the agreement signing ceremony held at the Governor’s office in Calabar, President of the firm, Mr. Jitender Sachdeva, gave the assurance that his firm would commence construction in two months.
“We will work very hard, fine tune all the activities and try to be on ground after the PPA in December. I want to assure you that the plant in Tinapa for 26 megawatts will give a boost to electricity and will be completed in 18 months,” Sachdeva said
He said his firm chose to invest in the state due to the investment friendly policies of the Ayade-led administration and because “the state is peaceful and safe”.
On the Institute of Technology and Management, Ugep, the President, Skipper Seil group, said “in addition to our Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), we have sent our team for the study of the technical Institute here in the state, and I can, with pride, say we are going to associate with your state in education as the Institute is now fully geared to start.”
Sachdeva expressed confidence in Ayade’s zeal and doggedness. He described him as “one of the few governors in Nigeria today who are paying salaries on time,” adding that “your projects are moving, your garment factory has been completed and I see you getting energy all the time even in the night and morning.”
Ayade said the 100kvm solar power intervention will serve as a grid for industrial zones across the 18 local governments in the state.
According to him, “solar power is a new way to go, because it is one way of reducing carbon emission to the atmosphere. It also creates new job opportunities for young people who are now interested in going into solar energy.”
The governor also hinted that discussions were at advanced stage for the immediate communities where the power plants will be located to enjoy power supply from the plants.
On the intervention on education by the Dubai-based firm, Ayade said: “My original dream was to build a builder’s academy. I will like to see the superhighway and seaport being constructed by a team of Cross Riverians who have been trained by our skill school.
“It is our strong hope that Skipper Seil will provide the Indian technology which today is indisputable anymore,” adding that “truly, truly, ITM will take a true breath of full technical capacity while upgrading it to a polytechnic to allow it have some federal interventions and sustain its philosophy to provide skilled hands-on training.”