A former representative of the State of New Hampshire in the United States Congress, Ambassador Richard Swett, has proposed a rural development model for Bayelsa State.Â
Speaking in Government House, Yenagoa, during a visit to Governor Douye Diri, Swett said the development model would create jobs, housing, electricity and food among other necessary requirements for Bayelsa people. Â
A statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Daniel Alabrah, quoted Swett, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Climate Prosperity Enterprises Solutions, as saying that the model was hinged on what he tagged: Total Environment Controlled Agriculture Plant (TECAP)
He said the facility would be a five-storey facility built on a hectare of land with agricultural activities capable of producing 400 times what could be grown in a regular farming season on the same size of land.Â
He also explained that the TECAP facility, which would be a zero-carbon emission community, would have different businesses that inhabitants would benefit from and sustain the facility.
Swett stated that each community would have a minimum of 3,000 persons that would have shares in the businesses that would operate in the facility.
He said funds for the project would be sourced from development agencies and other partners to make the proposed project a reality.Â
He noted that New Hampshire shared several similarities with Bayelsa and other places where similar projects had worked and expressed the hope that it would work in Bayelsa with commitment from the state government.Â
Responding, Diri, who commended Swett for choosing Bayelsa for the project, assured that the government would do everything possible to make it work.Â
He stated that the presentation was in line with his administration’s prosperity agenda, which is keen on attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs), adding that he was excited about the model, which, he said, would attract private funds to the state. Â
The governor set up a committee to be headed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo (SAN), to interface with Swett and his team.Â
Other members of the committee are the commissioners for Agriculture, Health, Power and Finance, as well as the Technical Adviser on Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Managing Director, Bayelsa State Electricity Company and Principal Secretary, Government House, Irorodamie Komonibo.
