BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – Innoson Group of Companies, with its flagship brand of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), has reached an agreement with Cross River State Government to establish a Vehicle Manufacturing Plant at Tinapa resort in Calabar, and also train the State’s teeming youth populace on agro-business.
The proposed Tinapa Vehicle Assembly Plant (TVAP) is part of efforts by the Cross River State Local Content Agency (CRSLCA) to resuscitate the popular Tinapa resort that has been lying fallow since the exit of Donald Duke as the governor in 2007.
The Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Local Contents, Ambassador Awatt Caleb, who dropped the hint recently while chatting with newsmen at the NUJ Press Centre in Calabar, said the proposed partnership is the outcome of a recent visit to the residence of Chief (Dr) Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman of Innoson Motors in Nnewi, Anambra State, who expressed willingness to engage with the State Government on youth training, automobile production, tyre manufacturing, and agro-industrial development.
The Special Adviser said the Governor Otu-led administration is willing to lend a parcel of land at the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort to Innoson Motors to extend their tentacles to the state with the establishment of their production plant and other related businesses.
According to him, the governor has already approved the hosting of a Local Content Summit in the State where Chief Chukwuma is scheduled to unveil the total package involved in the Tinapa resuscitation programme.
The Governor’s aide also explained that part of the deal involves the production of tricycles, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, and some electric vehicles, including the establishment of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plant that will service vehicles produced at the Tinapa Assembly Plant as well as and a rubber-to-tyre value chain in the state.
Ambassador Caleb said, “Innoson has already requested data on rubber output from Cross River for both export and local processing. The deal aligns with Governor Otu’s ‘People First‘ agenda, it’s a moment which will move us from policy rhetoric to practical action, attracting investments that will generate employment, and above all drive industrialisation.
“As a state, we’re moving from rhetoric to action. This partnership with Innoson will open a new chapter for Cross River’s local content drive.”
Furthermore, he said Innoson has promised to subsidise vehicle prices for Cross River indigenes, especially transport operators, to ease access and support micro-enterprise.
However, Ambassador Caleb assured that the selection of youths for employment at the auto plan when completed will have nothing to do with their political affiliations, but purely on merit.
To formalise the arrangement, the State government will soon be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Innoson Group.
Meanwhile, as part of the agro-industrial development, Ambassador Caleb further said all Local Government Councils’ Chairmen in the State have been directed to provide land for the cultivation of the special hybrid breed brand of rice that yields in under six months, which the company has earmarked for export
A Nigerian conglomerate, with its flagship brand being Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), a vehicle manufacturer, the group started with the local assembly of motorcycles and expanded into vehicle manufacturing, aiming to drive Nigeria’s economy through industrialization, technology transfer, and job creation.
IVM produces a range of vehicles, including buses, SUVs, trucks, and cars, and has expanded its operations into other African markets.
Developed in four phases under a Private Public Partnership (PPP) and promoted by the Government of Cross River State, the Tinapa business and leisure resort is located by the Calabar River, contiguous with the Calabar Free Trade Zone in Calabar Municipality.
