As the Delta state Mid-Term Reports of the members of the state executive council progresses, more facts have been unveiled on the unprecedented development strides of the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan administration.

The Delta State Commissioner for Special Infrastructure, Barr. Orezi Esievo, during her mid-term report revealed that the state government has created over 5,000 new jobs, while her counterpart in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Barr. Richard Mofe-Damijo also disclosed during his session that his Ministry has opened new income streams for Delta state government in a bid to sustain the “Delta Beyond Oil” initiative.

Esievo, during the on-going mid-term report on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 said that the over 5,000 new jobs were achieved in the past 24 months, as part of the dedicated efforts of the MDA’s in the supporting the Delta Beyond Oil initiative of the Governor Uduaghan administration.

She added that the jobs were created by the contractors handling the various government projects across the state in areas including casual, skilled and unskilled labour, equally noted that the jobs are mainly in the social sectors of Health, Education and Housing where the Directorate has wholly renovated and rehabilitated key infrastructure across the state.

Barr. Esievo further affirmed that a total of 50 primary schools have been built, rehabilitated and renovated by the Directorate, with 10 additional schools already equipped with modern facilities built, adding that the Directorate had also been mandated to scope over 60 more schools across the state for the next phase of rehabilitation and renovation.

She confirmed that a host of key special Infrastructure projects in the areas of Health, Commerce and Industry, Housing and other sectors  were executed, while work is still going on on some others across the state, even as she added that the projects have created employment for the teeming jobless populace which will in turn have a multiplier effect on the economy and eventually impact positively on the Delta Beyond Oil initiative.

According to her, “The State Government under His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan commenced the process of improving educational infrastructure by the construction/rehabilitation of 60 Primary/Secondary Schools across the State in 2011 at the total cost of N10, 459,251,716.85. Presently 90% of the school projects have been completed and are being commissioned”.

Other areas where the Directorate has made its impact felt include; remodeling and rehabilitation and equipping of Eku government baptist hospital, Eku,  Construction and equipping of a 100-bed integrated mother and child care centres at central hospital, warri and general hospital, Ekpan, which is a 3 – storey building of 100 beds, Offices, Laboratories, Theatre, Delivery and Labour rooms, 2 holding bays for ante-natal programmes with consideration for physically challenged persons. It is also equipped with a ramp and a 21 – passenger capacity elevator as well as state-of-art furniture and equipment, which is at 90% practical completion stage and is costing the State Government a total sum of N1, 433,761,377.47, the construction of the Mother and Child Care Complex, Ekpan which is costing Government a total sum of N585,445,905.84 for its construction is progressing at a satisfactory pace.

The Special Projects Commissioner also confirmed the Construction of 30 bus shelters and 4 city bus terminals across the state as part of the State Government’s Urban Renewal Strategy in the transportation sector in the state, for the sum of N1, 163,671,492.01, and the
Junction improvement works, which the State Government awarded at the cost of N3, 175,773,182.66 zand mosthave already been completed in the major metropolisis.

Other projects include, the dualisation of ughelli – asaba road (sectors a, b and c) by the State Government and completion of the 149km Federal road from Asaba to Ughelli awarded to three contractors in November 2008 at the total cost of N59,360,265,337.77, Construction of the 11.575km Trans Warri-Ode Itsekiri Bridges and Access Roads with two (2) Nos bridges awarded by the State Government at a cost of N7,299,904,546.94; Construction Of Sapele-Abigborodo – Aruwon Road which is at 55% completion with N3,727,893,723.63 of the contract sum paid.

In the area of promoting Commerce in the State, the Directorate has commenced Construction of the novel and ultra modern Ogheye Ultra Modern Concrete Floating Market Project, with the following facilities 1000 market stalls, 3 concrete stepways/pilling platforms/protective
barriers of 250 by 200 metres, warehouse and coldroom facilities, administrative building with banking hall, berthing facilities, fish processing unit,and other state-of-the-art facilities, at the cost of N3,006,316,012.60.

Esievo equally confirmed the expansion of Osubi Airport to increase the capacity from the existing 2.4km length by 30m width runway originally designed for small aircrafts, to the construction of a second runway of 4km by 60m width, taxiways, fire station, a modern
control tower, an Air force Base with a second apron as well as a hangar for a total cost of N40,076,134,537.23 out of which N10,019,033,633.50 has been paid as mobilisation to the contractor, even as she added that the preliminary work on some sites for the Construction Of Four (4) New State Polytechnics at Sapele, Bomadi, boh and Abigborodo at a cost of N4,400,000,000.00. of which  a total f N2,113,784,215.32 has so far been paid. The construction work on thers will commence once the rainy season was over, the Commissioner said.

In another development, Barr. Richard Mofe-Damijo, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, also disclosed during his session on Thursday, September 12, 2013, that his Ministry has opened new income streams for Delta state government in a bid to sustain the “Delta Beyond Oil” initiative.

Barr. Richard Mofe-Damijo espoused that through the promotion of the state’s cultural heritage, which has been on the front burner, by redirecting the energies of Deltans towards developing creative enterprises that will convert crafts to wealth.

Apart from the efforts to make Delta state the preferred tourism destination, where the state would become a hobnob of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, the Commissioner said that plans are underway for the provision of a symbiotic environment that will aid private sector driven initiatives that will greatly address issues of unemployment, poverty and youth restiveness.

He disclosed that the state government entered into a Public Private Partnership with Sarner PFM for the construction of a World Class Delta Leisure Park at Oleri, in Udu local government, explaining that the project has an initial foreign partners’ financiers to the tune of $250,000,000 Million.

The ongoing world class project is earmarked on a 500 acres of land provided by the state government which also forms the state government’s 10 per cent counterpart funding of the resort.