Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his administration will construct production centers and innovation hubs in Edo Central and Edo North Senatorial Districts of the state to boost production and other economic activities in the districts.
Obaseki, in a statement, said the hubs, which are a replication of Benin Production and Innovation Centers in Edo South Senatorial District will further spur industrialisation, which has the potential to unlock economic growth.
The governor, who assured that construction work in the Benin Industrial Park will commence early this year, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to actualising the aspirations of Edo people to live in a just, fair, productive and progressive state.
Governor Obaseki said, “I want to assure you, fellow citizens that we will not relent on our efforts at infrastructural renewal, industrialisation, and social development programmes, which we are currently undertaking across the entire state.
“We are committed to fixing our roads, rebuilding schools, facilitating expansion of existing businesses and ensuring a vibrant, boisterous state that we will all be proud to be associated with.””This year, we are doubling our efforts to surpass the set target of 200,000 jobs, which I promised in 2016 as we intend to deepen our relationship with local and international partners to create more opportunities for our youths in the different sectors of the state’s economy.
“On the back of the success from the Innovation Hub and production centers, we will build similar hubs and centers in Edo North and Edo Central. Construction work in the Benin Industrial Park will commence early this year.””As electricity is critical to attain our goals, we are exploring all options available to us as a government to make electricity available to our citizens.
“This is why we supported the 55MW CCTEC-Ossiomo Power Plant which should be commissioned this year. Some of the electricity will be purchased directly to power street lights, government buildings and industrial clusters.”, he added.
The Benin Production Centre hosts hundreds of artisans and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) operators, who are provided with a serene work environment and access to shared infrastructure, 24-hour electricity, security, water supply, internet, and access to low cost loans.The Edo Innovation Hub is a cluster for technology innovators and inventors to strengthen the state’s nascent technology innovation scene.
Tagged Edo Innovates, it provides a range of beginner, intermediate and advanced training in business and technology innovation, availing youths the opportunity to learn a wide array of employability and entrepreneurial skills.
Specifically, some of the offerings at the hub include digital skills, business support services, start-up incubation and business acceleration, mentorship, co-working spaces, and entrepreneurship training.
