The Nigerian Government has threatened to sanction erring expatriates for failure to open operational bases in Bonny Island, Rivers State for the Train 7 Gas Project.
The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr Simbi Wabote, gave the warning at the formal opening of ‘The Promise Fast Food and Restaurant’ in Bonny, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.
The Train 7 Project is a joint venture consortium that seeks to boost Nigeria’s Liquefied Natural Gas output to 30 million tonnes per annum from 22mtpa.
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According to the report, the Nigerian LNG, Italian Saipem, Japanese Chiyoda Corporation and South Korean Daewoo had raised an estimated $6bn to expand the country’s LNG to Train 7.
But Wabote claimed that some sub-contractors participating in the project had refused to “open their offices in Bonny, thereby denying the youths jobs.”
“So, as we prepare to usher in the Train 7 Project, there are a lot of companies that have business in Bonny that do not have offices in Bonny. We have built NLNG Train 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and when you ask those companies about their office location, you will discover that the majority of them are not in Bonny.
“Rather, they prefer to operate from Italy and Dubai while importing items into Bonny Island. Whenever NCDMB resist such attempts, the contractors go on a blackmail spree,” Wabote was quoted to have said.
The executive secretary of NDCMB also said the Nigerian government was ready to deal with the expatriates over their unfriendly and exploitative business practices in the gas project.
“The blackmail tactics are particularly done by some unscrupulous Italian contractors, who think that the only way to participate in the Train 7 Project is to blackmail NCDMB.
“But be rest assured that as long as I remain the Executive Secretary of NDCMB, we will checkmate them (contractors) this time around the Train 7 is coming. We will continue to push for the establishment of more operational bases of all the companies that are coming to participate in the Train 7 Project in Bonny,” he assured.
Wabote hinted that NCDMB had approved a local content plan adhered only to by Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo.
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