Vice President Yemi Ssinbajo would on Friday inaugurate Nigeria’s first coconut oil refinery, St Gabriel Coconut Refinery, located in Mkpat Enin Local Council of Akwa Ibom following the successful test run of the factory.
The multi-billion naira value-chain facility which would create thousands of job opportunities for Akwa Ibom people was facilitated by Akwa Ibom government under a Private Public Partnership and constructed by Turkish firm, VKS.
With a capacity to crack one million nuts a day, the factory is expected to employ over 3000 direct workers at full capacity.
The project is comprised of a factory complex complete with administrative offices, production areas, technical spaces, industrial firefighting systems, water treatment plants, effluent treatment plants and residential quarters for technical and managerial staff as well as parking areas for several raw materials bearing vehicles.
The project is located in the serene environment of Ikot Akpan Okop village, along the East West Road in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. The project execution was flagged off by Governor Udom Emmanuel during a ground-breaking ceremony on May 24th, 2017.
Already a two million fast yeilding hybrid coconut trees plantation on an 11,000 hectare of land to feed the refinery is ready in a swampland spanning Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi and Eastern Obolo Local Government Areas even as the Government has ensured that coconuts are cultivated at Okobo, Okon -Eket and other locations in the State.
The plantation is regarded as the largest coconut plantation in Africa, and the most ambitious coconut project in the world.
