Chinese truck maker, Foton, is set to establish a vehicle assembly plant
in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
This was made known by the Group Chairman, MSM Group, Muizam Mairawani and
representatives of Foton International during a meeting with the state
Governor, Professor Ben Ayade and some industrialists in Government House,
Calabar.
Mairawani said the assembly plant will create about ten thousand jobs in
the state.
He said their choice of Calabar was due to the favorable investment report
on the state, which is at their disposal as well as the Industrialization
strides of Governor Ayade.
“Last year when we met with the Commissioner for Petroleum, he briefed us
on the good works the governor was doing in the state, and that gave us
the courage to divert our attention to Cross River with regards to
building an assembly plant and a ship yard.”
He expressed appreciation to Governor Ayade for the good reception
accorded them, which according to him, has boosted their confidence in
their decision to build the plant in the state.
“The assembly plant is expected to create more than 10000 jobs,” he said.
Responding, Governor Ayade thanked the delegation for choosing to locate
the plant in the state.
While announcing that the state will buy 200 trucks from the Chinese auto
maker as a demonstration of good faith and in fulfillment of the minimum
requirement for the citing of the plant in the state, he spoke on the
viability of setting up the plant in the state.
He said apart from being the sole supplier of quarry aggregates to the
South-South region, the state also boasts of being home to the largest
cement factory in the country.
Aside these, the state also hosts the biggest oil tank farms in the country.
He said the state is also industrializing with most of the industries
requiring trucks to move raw materials and products
All of these sectors, depend heavily on trucks to move their products, he
disclosed.
“We have a monopoly to the extent that it is only in Cross River you can
get granite, you can get quarry aggregates in the whole of southern part
of the South South. So Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa states will all depend
solely on Cross River for aggregates. In effect, if Foton trucks has a
special presence in Cross River, it will cause all the users and those in
the business of supplying granites to buy Foton trucks particularly when
the assembly plant is here,” the governor stated.