Akwa Ibom Car Assembly Plant to roll out commercial vehicles in Q1 of 2022-Promoter

Akwa Ibom  Vehicle Assembly Plant  has assured  Nigerians that the plant currently under construction will roll out its first set of commercial vehicles from  the first quarter of 2022.

The Promoter of the assembly plant, Chief Valentine Okorie Okorie ,who disclosed this when journalists visited the assembly plant sited at Ikot Ukap Itam, Itu local government area to ascertain the progress of work during a facility visit said  that when the plant is completed, it will have the capacity to produce 1,000 commercial vehicles yearly.

Okorie, who is the chief executive officer, Nimshack Transportation Technologies Limited lauded the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel for creating a conducive environment for private investors to come into the state.

He said the state government in keeping with its industralisation drive had acquired land for the sitting of the plant and also constructed a dedicated power line to feed the automobile plant.

However, he blamed the delay in the project completion to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and certain policies of the federal government.

He disclosed that the firm was working with an Israeli automobile manufacturer – Mervan, as its technical partner.

The partnership, he said, would assist in technology transfer and backward integration.

He called on the federal government to make more reforms in the area of ease of doing business in the country.

“The plant is about 90 percent completed. Everything you see here is prefabricated and brought for installation, as you can see the electrical, the production area and the spraying area have been completed. We have fixed the offices, and I can assure you that in the next six months, commercial vehicles from this plant will be in the market.

“Our target is to produce 1,000 vehicles in a year. We must commend the state government for looking at other ways of generating allocation for the state, not just the allocation, but, something that can generate jobs and employment for the people. The government has assisted us by providing this land free and we have a dedicated power line drawn to the factory, “Okorie said.

He tasked government at all levels to invest in the transportation sub sector, reasoning that the sector was capable of generating several thousands of jobs and other investment opportunities.

“This is the first vehicle assembly plant in the South-South region, what Innoson is doing as a private investor is commendable, but, we are coming to take the automobile industry to another level, because of the types of vehicles that would be assembled here. Other assembly plants like PAN, VON, and ANNAMCO came and gone, but, we are coming to stay.

“The government should invest in the transport sector, like this assembly plant now, it has the capacity to generate over 10,000 jobs and other business opportunities. By the time we are fully operational, think of people producing oil filters, fuel filters, car batteries, break-pads and even those supplying items to the company, not to talk of direct employment.” He added.

 In May ,  Okorie, said on completion, the factory would produce commercial use, waste disposal trucks, fire fighting trucks and private vehicles.

Okorie who conducted the team from  Akwa Ibom State Government  around the facility described the automobile plant as a full package of Israeli technology which will produce stainless, non-rust suitable for Nigerian environmental terrain and roads.

He appreciated the support gotten from the state government and revealed that 20 citizens of the state to be trained in car assembling in Israel, where they would return to train others.

“We are going to produce vehicles that are durable, vehicles that will withstand the rigidity of Nigerian roads. We are building this having in mind our terrain. We will make sure that local contents are being taken care of. We are taking 20 Akwa Ibomites for training in Israel and when they come back, they will train others”, he said.

In her respond, the chairman, correspondents’ chapel of NUJ, Akwa Ibom State, Comrade Idongesit Ashameri applauded the investor for taking the challenge and the courage to venture into automobile assemblage and production in the state.