The Governor Peter Mbah-led administration in Enugu State has awarded a contract for the revamping of Hotel Presidential, a premier hotel in the heart of the state’s capital, Enugu.
The administration also said that it is currently perfecting the terms of the agreement for the resuscitation of the state-owned Niger Gas Company Limited sequel to a memo by the Enugu State Investment Development Authority in line with Mbah’s target to rehabilitate, refurbish and commission all dormant state assets such as Niger Gas.
The state 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, Aka Eze Aka, and his Culture and Tourism counterpart, Dame Ugochi Madueke, said that 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 the Presidential Hotel would not only put Enugu State on the world map as the premier destination for investment, tourism, and hospitality, but would also create jobs for the teeming youths in the state.
She said: “It is with great joy that I make this announcement because the hotel has been abandoned and has gone moribund over the past years. However, bringing it back to life will not only put our state on the world map again, but it will also equally create an economic value-chain, market, tourism and employment for our youths.”
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 later.
Speaking on the Niger Gas Company Limited, Aka observed that the current administration was focused on reviving all moribund industries to create an economy of scale for the state, leading to the state selling its products beyond the East of the Niger.
He said the approval for the revamp of the comatose company was based on a rigorous assessment of many commercial proposals and models presented to the state, establishing a compelling business case and profitability.
