• Edo in diaspora snap up property slots in Emotan Gardens Estate
Governor Godwin Obaseki has said the Edo State’s Industrial Development Policy has put the state on an economic growth path that is absorbing local manpower.
He said the state has been working on the comprehensive industrialisation policy with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), which he said would be unveiled soon.
Obaseki, who is pushing hard on the various stages of projects designed to transform the state into an industrial hub, noted that “the steps that have been taken by our administration are in line with the state’s well-articulated industrial development policy which will support increasing growth rates, generation of sufficient employment opportunities and sustainable economic growth and development.”
He said the Benin Industrial Park was conceived to serve as a base for manufacturing and processing companies that will add a great deal of value to products that are sourced from the state and her neighbours, for onward exportation through the Benin River Port in Gelegele.
The governor disclosed that the modular refinery in Benin has received N700 million as initial investment and sources familiar with the progress of the Edo-China investment collaboration, said the projects hold a lot of promise for the state.
Governor Obaseki said: “The company will be involved in the production of petroleum and petrochemical products and other related businesses. The venture will enhance the local refining capacity, thereby, increasing the volume of naphtha, kerosene, diesel and residual fuel oil products available in Edo State.”
 Meanwhile, buoyed by the positive outlook of the Obaseki-led administration, especially on the expansive 1,800-unit Emotan Gardens project, Edo people in the diaspora have thrown their weight behind the project, with many acquiring slots in the real estate project, at the 27th edition of the Edo National Association Worldwide (ENAW) convention, which held in Toronto, Canada.
Emotan Gardens, an ambitious real estate project, will transform the state’s real estate sector and provide affordable housing units to residents and those in the diaspora.
The project is being developed by the state government, through the Edo Development and Property Agency (EDPA), in partnership with MIXTA Africa, a renowned real estate and property development company.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event in Canada, Executive Chairman, EDPA, Isoken Omo, who declared that the houses were open for sale, noted that members of the diaspora community were enthusiastic about the project as it would be the first government-backed housing project in the last 16 years.