Chinese eye Nigeria’s modular refinery, infrastructure

Investors from China have indicated interest in building a multi-billion dollars modular refinery in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
The modular refinery initiative, which featured prominently in talks between the Federal Government and the oil-producing regions, was to discourage illegal refineries and oil pollution.
The leader of the delegation, Shaui Jiang, said that the group was also investing in other areas of the Nigerian economy, especially agriculture and infrastructure.
“We are a group of Chinese investors looking for investment opportunities. I believe we have so many areas of interest and opportunities to invest in Nigeria,” he said at a meeting with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja.
“We are interested in investing in energy, which include oil and gas, power, mining and renewable energy. We are interested in building modular refineries for communities to address the challenge in that region.
“The group is also investing in infrastructure development, such as bridge building, highway and railway construction.
“We are equally interested in the automobile sector, which include working with the federal and state governments and private sector to set up assembly plants in Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, the group’s investment in the agricultural sector, especially in machinery, was to boost large-scale mechanised farming in Nigeria.
Jiang said the investment plan was to further enhance the strategic ties between Nigeria and China.
A member of the delegation and a China-based Nigerian artist, Emmanuel Uwechue, who attracted the investors interest to Nigeria, advocated for the promotion of Nigerian culture in the Diaspora.
He stated that the future of a nation lies in the promotion of the richness of its culture.
Dabiri-Erewa commended Uwechue for promoting the Nigerian culture abroad, as well as attracting investors to the country.
“A lot of times we are getting stories about Nigerians in Chinese prisons, but we keep telling them that there are a lot of Nigerians out there that are good representatives of the country,” the presidential aide said.
She urged other Nigerians in the Diaspora to support the president’s effort in transforming the nation’s economy.