The Enugu State Government has awarded contract for the revamping of Hotel Presidential, a premier hotel in the heart of the state’s capital.
The administration also said it was currently perfecting the terms of agreement for the resuscitation of the state-owned Nigergas Company Limited sequel to a memo by the Enugu State Investment Development Authority in line with Governor Peter Mbah’s target to rehabilitate, refurbish, and commission all dormant state assets such as Nigergas. Recall that Hotel Presidential was built by the administration of the late Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Okpara, and opened in 1963.
It ran as a prestigious hotel until it became moribund decades after. Government made these known after the State Executive Council meeting presided over by the governor at the weekend. Briefing Government House correspondents, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Aka Eze Aka, and his Culture and Tourism counterpart, Dame Ugochi Madueke, said the moves were in line with the governor’s promise to convert all dormant assets in the state to productive assets.
According to Madueke, revamping of the Presidential Hotel would not only put Enugu State in the world map as the premier destination for investment, tourism and hospitality, but would also create jobs for the teeming youths in the state.
Speaking on the Nigergas Company Limited, Aka observed that the present administration was focused on reviving all moribund industries to create economy of scale for the state, and lead to the state selling its products beyond the East of the Niger.
On his part, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Enugu State Investment Development Authority, Dr. Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, while throwing more light on the move, said the demand for medical oxygen and industrial gas in the country far outpace the supply, hence the need for the state government to partner a reliable private player with proven integrity and track record to revamp this Nigergas and take advantage of the huge inherent opportunities.
