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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Reps urge FG to save Bayelsa petrochemical project from erosion

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to use Ecological Fund resources to combat shoreline erosion threatening a petrochemical project in Bayelsa State.
  • The Eraskon Lubricants/Chemicals Blending Plant, a strategic private investment, faces significant risk from erosion, potentially derailing its goal to reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported products.
  • Lawmaker Oforji Oboku warned that the environmental damage has already caused delays and forced the dismantling of a partially completed building, jeopardizing the project's viability.

Lawmakers in Nigeria's House of Representatives are calling on the Federal Government to intervene urgently to protect a significant petrochemical investment in Bayelsa State from the ravages of shoreline erosion. The plea centers on the Eraskorp Industrial Park in Gbarain, Yenagoa Local Government Area, where the Eraskon Lubricants/Chemicals Blending Plant is located.

The Eraskon Lubricants/Chemicals Blending Plant Project is an indigenous investment in the petrochemical industry located at the Eraskorp Industrial Park, Gbarain, Bayelsa State. It is a strategic private-sector investment aimed at promoting local manufacturing, reducing dependence on imported lubricants and chemical products, and advancing Nigeria’s industrialisation and economic diversification agenda.

— Oforji ObokuLawmaker Oforji Oboku describing the significance of the Eraskon petrochemical project in Bayelsa State.

Representing the Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency, Oforji Oboku sponsored a motion urging the deployment of resources from the Ecological Fund to halt the erosion. Oboku emphasized that this project represents a crucial private-sector initiative aimed at bolstering Nigeria's manufacturing sector, reducing reliance on imported lubricants and chemical products, and advancing the nation's economic diversification agenda.

before the devastating impact of shoreline erosion, the project had recorded significant progress, with major equipment procured and key infrastructure at advanced stages of completion.

— Oforji ObokuLawmaker Oforji Oboku detailing the project's progress before the erosion intensified.

The facility boasts a substantial production capacity of 128,000 liters per day for lubricants and chemicals, alongside an aerosol manufacturing plant and a carton production factory. Before the severe erosion, construction had progressed significantly, with major equipment procured and installed. However, the environmental damage has caused extensive delays and now threatens the entire investment. The lawmaker noted that a key building, nearing 75% completion, had to be dismantled after erosion exposed and destroyed its foundation and protective structures, putting the viability of this "important national investment" at risk.

Severe shoreline erosion has caused extensive damage to the project site, delayed the project, and threatens the viability of this important national investment.

— Oforji ObokuLawmaker Oforji Oboku warning about the severe impact of shoreline erosion on the petrochemical project.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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