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Bayelsa beckons on investors to grow economy

By BusinessNews Staff on August 4, 2014

For three days between the 16th and 19th of July, the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa, hosted an array of policy experts, company executives, business leaders and top government officials, who converged to have a close look at the issues of development in the state. The occasion was the maiden Bayelsa Investment and Economic Forum with the theme: “Unlocking Bayelsa State’s Economic Potentials: Opportunities and Challenges” which drew over 400 participants from across the world. The forum was organized to showcase the state’s investment potentials to investors, who could take advantage of the government’s ambitious drive to diversify its economy via private sector participation.

Declaring the event open, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Vice President, Arc. Namadi Sambo, was categorical in his endorsement of the state government’s development initiatives to bolster its economy and recommended the vast economic resources that abound in the state to prospective investors, urging them to see Bayelsa as a haven of investment opportunities. He, however, harped on the need for peace and unity without, which no meaningful development can take place not only in the Niger Delta, but the nation as a whole.
He noted that, the unique coastline and green vegetation of the State, if well harnessed, would increase the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In his remarks, Governor Seriake Dickson, who was enthusiastic about the large turnout and participation, spelt out the rationale for the inward looking approach by the state government to diversify its economy and the clarion call on serious investors to come into the state and invest. According to him, his conviction on the on-going economic restructuring was informed by his “ observation on first-hand, the acute poverty and huge challenges of unemployment and job creation” adding that, he became further convinced that “building a robust, productive and diversified economy was not just going to be an imperative, but was rather going to be a priority”. Accordingly, on assumption of duty, he said, most of the critical steps he took were aimed at building the cardinal imperative upon which the government’s policy thrust will be delivered.

No doubt, these are courageous perspectives. Indeed, the governor’s convictions are not only necessary with similar economies in the nation today, because of their peculiar under-development indices, but also apply globally where the issues of job creation and poverty alleviation remain on the front burner of public discourses. For there can hardly be any meaningful development in an economy without a sound productive base. The situation in Bayelsa State, the governor noted, had become increasingly unsustainable considering the huge cost of running the government vis-à-vis the cost of development and thus the logical way forward was to create alternative means of generating income by building productive capacities. The larger context is to prepare the state for an economy beyond oil and gas, which is a smart policy drive in an era of unpredictability in the oil market and the obvious implications.
Governor Dickson explained the systematic steps the government has so far taken to arrive at this point of convincing and attracting investors to the state, noting in particular the challenge of security, now overcome, as the state had spent huge resources in providing effective security network across the state, which had consequently ensured the peace and serene atmosphere in the state.
The governor was emphatic on this note, saying it is a fact that he authenticates every morning from automatically generated system call logs. Reinforcing his convictions on the tranquility that now pervades the state, Dickson went on to inform the crowd of participants at the investment and economic forum, that the success of the government’s efforts in addressing the security challenges had led to the return of nightlife and businesses to Yenagoa.

To prove his point, Governor Dickson led the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, ministers and some select business leaders on a guided tour of the security facility in the state, which was seen as revolutionary.

The governor also highlighted the strategic importance of building relevant infrastructure like roads and bridges, cargo and passenger airports, rail

lines and sea port and tourism facilities necessary in opening up the state for the anticipated rate of development, noting the serious efforts his administration has made to record the level of infrastructure now in the state. Yet for a government, which is emphasizing agriculture and tourism as the bedrock of its economic diversification, so much still needed to be done and to achieve that, the participation of the private sector becomes crucial and this is why the government is asking those who can see the future possibilities as envisaged by it, to come on board and invest. Aside agriculture and tourism, Bayelsa State is equally banking on the huge business and economic potentials in power generation, oil and gas, fertilizer production and manufacturing. Realizing the ambitious aims of government in these areas, is however, tied to the basic infrastructure, which in the words of Governor Dickson, can then facilitate the intention of ‘hitting the Atlantic Ocean where our real wealth lies”.

The government is, therefore, willing to welcome investors, who will relate with it in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) or under any other arrangement to accelerate the development of the various sectors of the state’s economy. To demonstrate its seriousness, the government has established the Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) and the Bayelsa Investment Promotion Agency (BIPA) acting as catalyst of development. The BDIC, for instance, with offices in London and Johannesburg, has the mandate of infrastructure financing, development financing and investment financing. Its investment models are those of state-owned/private management, private investment/joint venture, private-public-partnership (PPP) and other hybrid investment models. The BDIC, Governor Dickson said, has an asset base of over N300 billion, which was set up to drive government’s public-private-partnership for the overall development of the state as government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of addressing the development challenges in the state.

Critical areas of infrastructure development, which serious investors could key into in the thinking of the government, are the road and rail projects from Yenagoa-Ekeremor-Agge, a distance of over 110 km, where a deep seaport will be built. Feasibility studies and preliminary designs have since been commissioned on the deep seaport and now in the process of being finalized. Also the government has surveyed 20,000 hectares of land to host a new port city coming up in that vicinity. Incorporated within this city will be a free trade zone for which the process of obtaining Federal Government’s approval has commenced. The second road is the Ogbia-Nembe-Brass road and rail project, a distance of over 105km, where series of investments in the oil and gas sector will be taking place, connecting the East Senatorial Zone projects like the Brass LNG project, Brass Fertilizer project with investment value of $3.3 billion and BP/BannerGas Aggregation Terminal also taking place along this corridor. And the third road is the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Koluama road project meant to open up the Central Senatorial Zone and the state’s forest reserves for agricultural business and lumbering. The government is, therefore, calling on investors to partner with it on PPP basis. Similar projects of economic significance in the state are the development of a cargo and passenger airport in conjunction with the Federal Government, which hopefully, will be ready in 2015, and the Agge seaport with 15 metres depth, which is the deepest draft in the country. There is also the industrial park, housing, and heavy and light manufacturing. The project expected to start soon, will have an inland port with warehousing and storage facilities around the corridor linking Bayelsa and Anambra State to take advantage of the legion of importers and business community in the eastern part of the country.
The government has surveyed 400 hectares of land for this purpose. Investment in power generation is also on offer, where the state government wants to be the energy centre of the nation. Being home to oil and gas, indeed, where 40 per cent of the nation’s gas deposit is located, Bayelsa’s ambition of an initial 3000 megawatts capacity could be done, even more, when the right investors are participating and it is seen as a future goldmine in real economic terms.

In the meantime, the state has attracted investments in the power sector from the IPP Energy Limited of Canada, raising $200 million for 100 megawatts and that of Proton Energy Limited to create 500 megawatts. Agriculture is gaining increased attention, with focus on rice and cassava cultivation in commercial quantities and more investors are being expected. In conjunction with Ostertrade Engineering and Manufacturing KFT/DPP International APS, a Hungarian consortium, a cassava starch processing plant with capacity to produce 600 tons of industrial starch per annum and an out- growers scheme of 600 hectares cassava farm now exists in the state. Currently, the state has 4000 hectares of rice farm at Peremabiri, 5000 hectares at Isampou and 2000 hectares at Kolo with capacity to grow more for export. Both organic banana, palm plantation are also prime line of cultivation for the prospective investors.

Tourism as a strategic plank of diversifying the state’s economy, has also attracted a lot of investment from the government, and now requiring major private sector investments to achieve the long term objective of government in areas such as hotels and facilities.
While the Castle Rock Hotel, a 24 –suite 100-bed six star hotel with an amphitheatre, casino, wellness centre, chapel and other facilities will be commissioned within the next two months, the ambitious Tourism Island and the New Yenagoa City with a 20,000 hectares comprising choice residential and leisure spots require further huge funding.
The Golf Estate with 18 hole international golf course has similar implication, with a world standard Polo turf and club, a helipad and conference centre. A Film village is also in the offing as the government takes far-reaching and aggressive steps in economic renewal and consolidation.

Speaker after speaker, at the various sessions of the summit were full of praises for the state government’s initiatives, as questions were also asked about the anticipated challenges and limitations bothering on financing, integration modalities, legal framework, bureaucracy and other institutional issues. Assurances and support came from the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison- Madueke, that the Federal Government had taken practical steps to deepen its partnership with Bayelsa on a number of projects, including the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (BLNG) with the Final Investment Decision (FID) due in the first quarter of next year, adding that work on a pipe mill development project at Polako in Yenagoa local government area was ongoing as well as the industrial park at Otuoke. Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, also endorsed the Bayelsa economic road map, noting that, like Nigeria the state possesses a viable macro-economic environment for investments to thrive, adding that the state accounts for more than 30 per cent of the nation’s crude oil production and could also do well in agriculture, if the needed investments are made. Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, who delivered a paper on ‘Technology Infrastructure and e-commerce Growth’ stressed the opportunities in the Nigerian ICT industry, primary drivers and factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce as well as the ministry’s role in facilitating the ICT development and e-commerce growth.

The minister urged Bayelsa State to focus on the development of the ICT infrastructure in the state by waiving the Right of Way levy for two years. She later signed an MoU with the state government on the ‘Smart State’ initiative, which would help in facilitating the ICT development and e-commerce growth, while Dickson pledged a 50 per cent reduction in RoW charges and the setting up of a single agency to administer the collection of all taxes and levies in the state.
Earlier, the Keynote Speaker, Mr. Jim O’Neil, retired Chairman of Goldman Sachs Assets Management, represented by the Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Lord Malloch-Brown, acknowledged the essence of economic diversification as a basis for growth and development.

He emphasized the need to build an inclusive political government, sound institutions, values and commitment to gain the confidence of investors. In his remarks, Chairman of Silverbird Group, Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce, shed light on growing the tourism industry in Bayelsa State, harping on the right attitude and good, creative thinking and ideas, citing the situation in the once war ravaged Rwanda coming to terms with the realities and turned mountain monkeys into tourism enterprise and earning huge dollar income yearly and the Kenya experience, where the country derives a lot of income from tourism.
The three-day summit provided investors and observers alike the opportunity to appraise the huge business and economic potentials in the state and the offer of government for collaboration.

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