Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has expressed interest to co-finance the establishment of an agro-processing zone with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Governor Otti expressed the commitment when he received in audience the AfDB delegation led by its Team Lead, Dr Bernard Onzima, assuring that Abia State is ready to co-finance the project as demanded by the team and also provide the enabling environment for the project to thrive.
“So, you wouldn’t have any problems. We are already doing that (providing an enabling environment) in a lot of the locations. How much more when we have a project that we are going to be partnering with you.
“So, the government would sit down with your team, understand what exactly is required of us, and then we will not hesitate to handle that,” Gov. Otti assured.
Governor Otti expressed excitement that the team included Abia among the States in the second Tranche of the project, saying that he is happy that the team has already visited the agro-industrial site in Ukwa West and disclosed that there are other areas across the State suitable for agricultural investments.
“There is the one in Ukwa East, and that would be Abia Palm…we have an MoU that we have signed with an international company. But then, beyond Ukwa, there is so much land in the northern part of the State, including the central – the Umuahia area and Ikwuano.
“There is the old farm settlement at Ulonna, and that’s around Umuahia North and Bende LGAs. Then, as you move towards Arochukwu, in Abam area, there is the rubber plantation, all sorts of sites,” Gov. Otti disclosed.
The Governor used the opportunity to thank the African Development Bank for supporting the Abia State Integrated Infrastructural Development (ABSID) project, for which the State had already paid its counterpart funding.
Earlier, the Team Lead, AfDB, Dr Bernard Onzima said they were on a pre-appraisal mission for the Phase two of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme.
According to him, “The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme is an initiative of the African Development Bank that is intended to address downstream agro-processing challenges in our member States, and it is therefore intended to de-risk investments in agro-processing.
“This initiative is being implemented in several countries across the continent with a portfolio of slightly over $1.2 billion now in the different regional member countries.
“So, the financing package for Tranche 2 will be $200 million from the AfDB for the 8 States that we are targeting, and we are expecting a co-financing of another $150 million from the Islamic Development Bank.”
