Lalong Determined To Boost Economic Fortunes Of Plateau State

 

The Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong on Friday said his adminstration is determined to  boost the economic fortunes of the State.

The governor made this known while speaking at the commissioning of the Nigerian Shippers Council North Central Coordinating office and visual presentation of proposed maritime resources center in Jos by the  Minister of Transport, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi.

Lalong said: "I am highly honoured to welcome you to this very important event which is the commissioning of the Nigerian Shippers Council North Central Coordinating Office and visual presentation of the proposed Maritime Resource Centre here in our beautiful capital city of Jos. 

 

 Let me welcome and thank specially my friend and brother the Honourable Minister of Transport, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council for doing this honour to Plateau State by citing this very important project here.

 Although the State is very suitable and well-endowed for the citing of this project, we do not take it for granted that Plateau was chosen as the host out of many States in the country. On behalf of the Government and people of Plateau State, I wish to assure you that this decision will never be regretted.

There is no doubt that citing this North Central Coordinating Office in Jos will add a lot of value to the general plan for development of Inland Container Terminals across the nation and also facilitate more economic activities in the hinterland. Plateau State has been a centre for economic and socio political activities in Nigeria right from colonial times” said governor Lalong.

He further added: ‘Because of its serenity, centrality, easy access, good weather, mining and agricultural endowments, hospitable people and a lot of tourist attractions, Plateau State becomes the natural choice for the development of inland shipping business in the nation."

Lalong further said that "This development is coming at the time when the Federal Government is reviving the railway line right from Port Harcourt through many cities including Jos. In addition to this, the Yakubu Gowon Airport Heipang is selected as one of the four new Cargo Airports whose work will begin soon. This is a great mix that makes today’s event very timely."

" Earlier this morning, we were at the Inland Container Depot at Heipang to inspect the facility. Although this facility has been on ground for some time, it is very promising that the time has come for it to come into use. We have the assurances of the Federal Ministry of Transport towards achieving this objective."

"Your Excellencies ladies and gentlemen, another very exciting part of this event is the visual presentation of the Maritime Resource Center which will be developed under a Public Private Partnership, (PPP). This is a very laudable initiative that my administration welcomes with great excitement."

The Governor further said that  he has been informed that the Resource Centre when operational will have many facilities including Research and Administrative Building, Library, Conference Centre and Multi-purpose Hall with sitting capacity of over two thousand five hundred people and other meeting rooms.

"In addition, I understand that there will be a 4-Star Hotel with 150 rooms, Mixed Shopping Malls, Gaming Arcades, Food Courts, Five Aside Football Pitch, Basketball and Tennis Courts, ATM Galleries, Swimming Pools and Water Park among others. "

" This is an investment that will not only boost the economic fortunes of the State, but also create job opportunities for many of our teeming youths. It is coming at a time when there is greater demand for hotel accommodation, entertainment centres and tourist attractions to cope with the demand of the local population and the high number of visitors to the State." 

"Our administration is happy that its efforts and sacrifices in the past six years towards investing in peace and security are now yielding positive results such as the one we are witnessing today. We shall continue to do more to consolidate on the substantial peace so as to attract more of this kind of investment for the betterment of our State."

"To make investing in the State easier, our Administration has established a One-Stop-Investment Centre to give investors access to all services under one roof. This is in addition to continuous development and upgrade of our infrsatructure and other services to support the growing economy."

He further said that: "We are happy that this entire boost in economic activities of our State is coming at the time when we have activated sustained efforts to improve our revenue base. We have to look inwards for other sources of funding our programmes and projects as COVID-19 has accelerated the urgency for us to think out of the box."

He further said that the state would be hosting a Plateau Economic and Investment Summit   in September this year.