The Enugu State Government has awarded the contract for the renovation of Hotel Presidential, a premier hotel in the heart of the state’s capital.
A statement from the state government on Monday revealed that the Peter Mbah-led administration was also perfecting the terms of the agreement for the resuscitation of the state-owned Nigergas Company Limited, a sequel to a memo by the Enugu State Investment Development Authority.
Briefing Government House correspondents, after the State Executive Council meeting presided over by the governor at the weekend, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Aka Eze Aka, and his Culture and Tourism counterpart, Dame Ugochi Madueke, said the moves were in line with the governor’s promise to convert all dormant assets in the state to productive assets.
According to Madueke, revamping the Presidential Hotel would not only put Enugu State on the world map as a destination for investment, tourism and hospitality but it would also create jobs for the youths in the state.
“It is with great joy that I make this announcement because the hotel has been abandoned and has gone moribund over the past years. However, bringing it back to life will not only put our state on the world map again; it will equally create an economic value-chain, market, tourism and employment for our youths,” the commissioner stated.
Hotel Presidential was built by the administration of the late Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr Michael Okpara, and opened in 1963.
Speaking on the Nigergas Company Limited, Aka observed that the current administration was focused on reviving all moribund industries to create an economy of scale for the state and lead to the state selling its products beyond the East of the Niger.
He said the approval for the revamp of the comatose company was based on a rigorous assessment of many commercial proposals and models presented to the state, establishing a compelling business case and profitability.
On his part, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Enugu State Investment Development Authority, Dr Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, highlighted that the demand for medical oxygen and industrial gas in the country far outpaces the supply.
He noted that this necessitated the need for the state government to partner with a reliable private player with proven integrity and a track record to revamp Nigergas and take advantage of the huge inherent opportunities.
“The “re-engineering, refurbishment, and subsequent commissioning of Nigergas is a deliberate step by the Governor Mbah Administration to provide the much-needed medical oxygen and industrial gas for the South East and the entire country because the country is hugely underserved.
“The profitability profile, commercial and investment have been vetted with prospects of huge profit. We have everything on the ground, and our timeline to kick off is certain. What remains is the paperwork because we already have the approval of the governor and now that of the State Exco,” he added.
Nwobodo explained that the move to revamp Nigergas was one in a series of projects aimed at reviving other moribund state-owned enterprises such as Niger Steel Ltd., Sunrise Flour Mills, and the aluminium smelting company at Ohebe Dim.
