Abia State government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Total Value Integrated Services Limited for the building of an industrial cluster for the leather, garment and allied products producers at Amator in Obingwa LGA of the state.

Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony at Hotel De La Paix Aba, the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Industries, Cletus Mba, said that the building of the N30 billion industrial cluster was informed by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s early mindset to provide the beneficiaries with a suitable and permanent business location that would prosper their businesses and thus engender mass production of made-in-Abia/Aba products.

He said that members of the beneficiary associations would be allocated shops first before others in the cluster which will have 15, 000 shops therein.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Total Value Integrated Services Ltd, Dr Chris Onyekachi Simon said that the building of the Cluster will be completed and commissioned before the end of Ikpeazu’s tenure as the state governor in 2023.

He assured the beneficiaries of the cluster of favourable terms of payment for Shops within four years on weekly, monthly or yearly instalments and urged them to make doing so seriously.

The CEO added that the cluster has provision for banks, fire service, parks, internet service, Security posts, constant electricity and water supply among other facilities.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works Mrs Ijeoma Okere said that the provision of transport and allied services were included in the plan.

Managing Director of Abia State Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bank, Kingsley Nwobilor who assured the producers of the Bank’s partnership said, “We shall grant you credits/loans on good terms within 24 hours even without collaterals but you must belong to your group’s Association”.

Leaders of the Associations, Geoffrey Adiele for the Union of Tailors/ Garments Manufacturers and Williams Okechukwu for the Leather Products counterpart, separately lauded the state government for the project.

They said: “we had no befitting business location hence we long needed a world-class Cluster as this one governor has conceived”.

In his remarks, the traditional ruler of the Cluster-host community, Eze Okechukwu Okwandu expressed optimism that the cluster would not only bring development to the area but bring the artisans together and make them more united.