Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has said the discovery of oil and gas deposits in the Kolmani area of the state has presented it with huge potential for economic development, especially in the area of natural gas and associated components.
He said the opportunities include increased revenue – through 13 percent derivation; improved internally-generated revenue (IGR) as well as backward and forward linkages through the attraction of businesses that rely on outputs from the sector and vice-versa.
The governor said efforts towards building up local content had also progressed steadily, as the Oil and Gas Academy in Alkaleri in the governor’s local government area established to drive the process will soon take off.
Governor Bala Mohammed, who stated this during presentation of the 2024 budget to the state House of Assembly said Bauchi is working with key investors to establish an Industrial Complex for Natural Gas and Associated Products with industries that would focus on utilisation of natural gas.
“In addition to the opportunities for industrialization through the oil and gas sector; other potentials also exist which include pharmaceuticals,” he said.
He said with availability of needed raw materials for the industry, the state should be able to engage investors on the possibility of establishing a modern pharmaceutical company that can meet about 70% of the market in the North-East.
“The key economic potentials and comparative advantages the state has in the areas of agriculture, solid mineral resources, brownfields and tourism, among others, have necessitated the need for efforts towards building sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships and attracting investments,” he added.
Governor Bala said the state will leverage on the relationship it has established with China through the Bauchi-Shandong Sister State-Province relationship in order to attract investments to develop value-chain around agriculture, oil and gas, solid minerals and science and technology in order to create jobs, wealth and reduce the prevailing rate of poverty in the state.
“It is important to note that Shandong province is China’s third largest province with a population of over 101 million and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.3trillion. It ranks highly amongst the provinces in the production of a variety of products including cotton, wheat, sorghum and maize as well as precious stones such as gold and diamonds. It also has extensive petroleum deposits.
“Shandong’s economic development focuses on large enterprises with well-known brand names. It is the biggest industrial producer and one of the top manufacturing provinces. It is the largest agricultural exporter in China and has a number of economic and technological development zones including export processing zones,” he said.
Mohammed also told the legislature, “The Sister State-Province relationship has been created in view of the similarities in our endowments. We will leverage on Shandong’s strengths and experiences in the area to partner and also build up on our potential.”
The governor added, “Similar interests have also been noted and efforts to establish mutually beneficial relationships with other investors from the United Arab Emirate; Saudi Arabia and from among other key local investors, with visible commitments to work with the state, are ongoing.”
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