Akwa Ibom automobile assembling plant 99% completed, says commissioner

The Akwa Ibom Automobile Vehicle Assembling Plant in Itu Local Government is 99% completed, the Akwa Ibom state government has declared.

Akan Okon, commissioner for economic development and Ibom Deep Seaport, who stated this while briefing the media, said, contrary to what some persons may think, the plant is ready and would be commissioned on schedule as all the components needed for the smooth take off of the plant is ready.

According to him, Udom Emmanuel, the governor, remains passionately committed to completing and commissioning the plant on schedule and will leave no stone unturned towards the realisation of the objectives aimed at creating jobs and tackling unemployment in the state.

He regretted that majority of the public confuse a vehicle assembling plant to a vehicle manufacturing plant, stating that both are not the same.

“Everything to enable the automobile assembling plant carry out assembling of vehicles is ready. Note that there is a big difference between a vehicle assembling plant and a vehicle manufacturing plant,” he said.

“They are not the same. The assembling plant will receive completely knocked down components and couple them and for the Semi Knocked Down Components, SKD’s, you don’t need any other equipment than all the cranes that are on ground. When these components arrive from Israel, all what the plant will do is to fix it. All what we are waiting for is for the CKD’s and SKD’s to come from Israel.”

He said the administration’s earlier plans to send the first batch of trainees to Israel to understudy and learn how to assemble vehicles so as to come back and become pioneer staff who will train other artisans is still on course, blaming the delay in departure of the would be trainees on the total lockdown that happened in Israel due to the surge in COVID-19 infections.

On Ibom Air, the commissioner observed that the airline is today Nigeria’s airline of choice due to its high level of professionalism, noting that Akwa Ibom’s future and success on all aspect of it’s economic life is dependent on doing the right thing consistently to achieve results using International best practices.

He debunked insinuations that Ibom Air is exorbitant, stating that Ibom Air remains the cheapest and most reliable Airline in Nigeria, compared to what is obtainable in Europe or in America.