From JOE EFFIONG, UYO
Israeli company Mimshak specializing in manufacturing of various types of vehicles in the Middle East has said it is ready to train 50 Akwa Ibom indigenes in various units of car production process in readiness to kickstart the assembly plant in the state.
Speaking The Chief Operating Officer and Car Plant Technologist of the car assembly company, Mr Rolen Golan, who disclosed in Uyo on Thursday while conducting newsmen around the company facility, said out of 150 automobile technicians screened, only 50 have so far been selected while 20 persons would soon depart to Israel for further training that would lead to technological transfer
Golan said different units which the artisans would be trained include tyre alignment and wheel balancing, electricals, car Air condition repairs, car diagnosis using computer, mechanical section as well as interior/upholstery unit.
The car plant technologist disclosed that the first batch of the trainees will leave Akwa Ibom for Israel in the next one week after undergoing various tests to ascertain their technical capacity needed for the training in Israel .
Golan explained that Mimshack is the largest car manufacturing company with 45 years in the car production business in Israel adding that the company will commence car production in Akwa Ibom using locally sourced and few imported raw materials.
He maintained that the training will equip the artisans to contribute in training others in the factory when they return to the state.
” We are using cars here to test the artisans in various fields such as tyre alignment , electrical , painting, air conditioning , upholstery and mechanical works.
While expressing gratitude to Governor Udom Emmanuel for his immense support to the firm, he said “The first batch of the trainees will leave Akwa Ibom for Israel to return in the next few months and join in the car production.
” Cars to be produced here include: mini buses, luxurious buses and pleasure cars which will be specifically suitable for Nigeria roads.”
The car plant technologist listed factors that hindered the successful take off of the car production in the state to include COVID-19 pandemic, high forex exchange and the recent Ukraine war .
He also requested for additional land for the company expansion adding that the present location is not enough for their operations.
The Commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deepsea Mr Emem Almond said the state government had provided necessary facilities including finances as part of the counterpart funding for the project.
The commissioner who was represented by the permanent Secretary in the ministry said government has provided dedicated power line to enhance uninterrupted power supply to the facility among other incentives
He said the car plant is one of the industries established by Gov Udom Emmanuel through Public Private Partnership (PPP) which would provide jobs for over 3,000 indigenes of the state .
On their own, most of the selected artisans said they saw the advertisement and applied for inclusion, denying using any form of government contacts to secure a place in the firm.