By John Ikani
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has secured approval to launch a $50 million fund for Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS) Manufacturing Product Line.
This was made known by the Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Simbi Wabote on Friday at the commissioning of the ultra-modern valves assembling facility established by Catobi Nigeria Enterprises Limited in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to him, the fund would support oil and gas companies that would operate in the oil and gas parks developed by the Board in Bayelsa and Cross River states.
The parks are expected to be commissioned and operational in the 4th quarter of 2022 and would incubate the manufacturing of equipment components utilized in the oil and gas industry as well as create an estimated 2000 jobs in each park.
In his words, “on Thursday, the Governing Council of the Board approved $50m product in the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) Fund to support in-country manufacturing of components within the industrial parks currently being developed by the Board in Bayelsa and Cross River States.”
While noting that the NCDMB understands the challenge associated with manufacturing, especially the reluctance of banks to extend loans to manufacturers, Engr, Wabote added that the NOGAPS Manufacturing Product Line fund will be managed by the Bank of Industry (BoI) to address the identified challenges.
It is worthwhile to note that the Board established the NCI Fund in 2018 with the purpose of financing Oil and Gas companies to increase capacity and grow Nigerian Content in the industry.
The NCI Fund has five product lines which are being managed by the Bank of Industry.
They include – Manufacturing Finance -$10m; Asset Acquisition Finance -$10m; Contract Finance -$5m; Loan Refinance -$10m and Community Contractor Finance – N20 million.
The Board also has a US$30 million Working Capital Fund for oil and gas service companies and $20m Fund for Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund.
Both facilities are administered by the Nexim Nigerian Export-Import Bank and the agreements were signed in mid-2021.
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The NCDMB is an agency charged with the responsibility of developing, implementing & monitoring programmes that ensure steady growth of Local Content in Nigeria.
The Board was established in 2010 by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, with a core mandate to manage and grow Nigeria’s local content capacity. So far, it has lived up to its mandate.
Heritage Times had earlier chronicled NCDMB’s giant strides in 2021 under the transformational leadership of Engr. Wabote has been relentless at initiating, regulating and catalysing new opportunities that engender value-adding activities in-country and on the African continent at large.
