In the quest to enhance power infrastructure for manufacturers and business owners in Nigeria, the Federal Government has announced that the Agbara Industrial Hub is now connected to the national grid.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this during the just concluded 2024 Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) Summit in Abuja.
Uzoka-Anite said the connection of the industrial hub to the grid is part of the federal government’s ongoing Light Up project to provide sustainable energy to the manufacturing industry.
She noted that the Light Up project involves connecting all industrial hubs, such as the Tokarawa Industrial Hub in Kano and the Nnewi Hub in Anambra to affordable energy, whether from the national grid or alternative gas sources.
According to her, this will reduce the cost of energy in these key areas by about 60 percent, leading to a reduction in the cost of goods and services in the country.
“We’ve commenced the initial process of mapping out major industrial clusters across the country to provide our local manufacturers with targeted interventions, enhancing their vibrancy and competitiveness.
“Currently, a lot of our industrial clusters are still not connected to efficient and affordable power supply. We flagged off the Light Up campaign. We started with the Agbara industrial hub which is now connected to the national grid.
“We are also making arrangements to connect some other industrial hubs like Mowe, Tokarawa market in Kano, Nnewi industrial cluster in Anambra, to the national grid and to gas where this is not available,” she said.
The Industrial Clusters Power Project is part of the federal government’s ongoing initiative to light up industrial clusters across the country. The programme which began in October 2023 is headed by the Vice President, Kasim Shettima.
The scheme is aimed at revamping Nigeria’s infrastructure framework and providing the much-needed drive to strengthen the nation’s economy.
SOURCE: VANGUARD