Rivers State Government says it is developing an alternative economy that will compete with the current oil based economy. The Chairman of the Integrated Medical Industries (IMI), Dr. Tamunoiyoriari Sampson Parker declared this in Vienna Austria while speaking at the first test run of the Integrated Medical Industries power plant, built by G E Jenbacher GMBH & Co, a subsidiary of General Electric.
Dr. Parker who is also the State Commissioner for Health said, “Oil has been good to Nigeria and the Rivers People but Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi believes that the best way to sustain the development of Rivers State is to develop an economy that is independent of oil that is why we the Rivers State Government has invested heavily on manufacturing, farming, education, health and energy.” He said the captive power plant with 624,612 series will provide 14 mega watts of electricity to Integrated Medical Industries and the manufacturing plants in Port Harcourt.
The Commissioner who described the GE 624 engine as top of the range engine said that it will be commissioned in Africa for the first time when it is installed at the IMI factory in Port Harcourt early next year. Dr. Parker stated that the Integrated Medical Industries is a company jointly owned by the Rivers State and the Federal Government, but currently financed wholly by the Rivers State Government.
He noted that the company has embarked on a $27m expansion, which currently produces about 160 million syringes a year, pointing out that on completion of the expansion in 2014 this figure will rise to 1.3 billion syringes, 1 billion hypodermic needles, 105 million IV giving sets, 90 million IV solutions per annum. According to him the IMI is the first manufacturer of medical equipment in sub Saharan Africa and the 18th in the world to win the converted World Health Organization PQS, which is the highest standard in the world.
The IMI Directors Dr. T.S. Parker, Wogu Boms and Amenya Wokoma were taken on tour of the Jenbacher manufacturing plant and other power plants at early stages of production. Speaking Thomas Acher, Head of the Jenbacher Plant, expressed excitement at the visit of the delegation from Rivers State, stressing, “Although our 6 series have been in the market for over six years, this is the first time we are shipping the 624 gas engine to Africa”. Highlight of the event was presentation of the test results and certificates to the Rivers State team. Jenbacher was bought in 2003 by G E, a company founded by Thomas Edison which has been operating in Austria for about 800 years is been represented by Clerk Energy in Nigeria.
