A delegation from Artelia Consulting Engineers Limited, India, is in Anambra State for a feasibility study geared towards the development of a master plan for a Mixed-Used Industrial City.

 

The company had signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the state government at the Anambra State Investment Summit.

During the study, they visited the state Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources as part of its high-level stakeholder engagement in the state.

 

Unveiling the aims of their visit to the ministry, the Senior Urban Planner of the company, Ms. U Sangeetha, disclosed that the Mixed-Used Industrial City will sit on a four thousand hectare of land.

She listed manufacturing, Agro and food processing, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, utility social recreational and entertainment zones, commercial hub, among numerous others as proposed sectors within the proposed city.

 

Ms. Sangeetha, after listing all that the industrial city will house, said they came for a detailed information on the solid mineral, oil and gas deposits in the state as well as their existing policies, regulations, acts and areas of investment.

While also requesting for existing study developed by development partners in minerals, oil and gas sectors, Ms. Sangeetha, also inquired for available statistics on their collection capacities and investment guidelines developed by the ministry.

 

 

Welcoming the delegation, who were accompanied on the visit by a team from Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA, the Commissioner of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Barrister Anthony Ifeanya, said that the ministry has been able to incorporate Anambra State Solid Minerals Development Company Limited with ANSIPPA to act as a special purpose vehicle that will drive all the businesses in the sector.

For the oil and gas sectors, Barrister Ifeanya, clarified that since solid minerals and oil and gas sectors are in the exclusive legislative list in Nigeria, the ministry is in the process of obtaining a license to be able to partner investors.

 

He, however, appealed for the approval and release of funds from the state government to be able to carry out a bankable feasibility studies of all the solid minerals and oil and gas deposits in the state.

 

The Special Assistant to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Petroleum, Engineer Ikechukwu Okafor, unveiled that Anambra Basin has thirteen acreage and out of the nine domiciled within the state’s geographical location, two are being exploited.