The Federal Government has doused concerns of Nigerians over the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State, which is projected to gulp $1.5 billion.
Many Nigerians have voiced concerns that borrowing such humongous amount to finance the rehabilitation of the refinery, would balloon the country’s debt out of proportion.
But the government, through minister of state for Petroleum Timpre Sylva, has assured Nigerians that the funding for the project will not significantly add to the nation’s burden.
He spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
A total of $1.5 billion has been proposed by the government to fund the project – a decision that has sparked controversy and debates in various parts of the country.
In what seems to be the latest reaction among several others, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, doused the concerns that the project would worsen the nation’s debt profile.
He stated that the government does not intend to borrow all the funds to rehabilitate the refinery which he said would be functional in 18 months.
Sylva said. that a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd (NPDC) – and others would contribute the money to be used for the project.
“There are questions asked – when are we going to fix our refineries, when are we going to rehabilitate our refineries? Now, we are rehabilitating the refineries but unfortunately, it is generating all these (issues),” the minister said.
-with Channels TV report
