GOMBE – At least three villages will be relocated to protect residents from environmental hazards, which may result from the expansion of the Ashaka Cement Company in Gombe State.
Mr Tony Okpara, the company’s General Manager, Projects, disclosed this in Ladde-Bage village of Funakaye Local Government Area of the state on Thursday January 16th 2014. The occasion was the foundation-laying ceremony of some projects.
The three communities, according to him, are Lariski, Darumpa and Malari. He also mentioned that the company was preparing to spend N262m on the relocation.
The General Manager said the amount would be spent on the construction of 55 houses, three blocks of classrooms, clinic, mosque and three boreholes for the affected communities.
“They (villages) will be relocated to Ladde-Bage village to facilitate the excavation of the affected environment. This will follow the excavation of limestone in the area for the purpose of cement production,’’ he said.
He said the company had earlier acquired 40 hectares of land in order to relocate the affected communities.
Okpara said the construction work was awarded to 13 indigenous contractors, who had been given a period of three months to complete the project.
Mr Lionard Volger, the company’s Managing Director, also expressed his appreciation for the communities’ co-operation, assuring the residents that Ashakacem would not toy with its corporate social responsibility.
He assured them of his optimism that the contractors would deliver the jobs according to specification and on schedule.
Also speaking, Alhaji Umar Kwairanga, Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, said the projects constituted just about one per cent of what the firm has in store for the host communities.
Kwairanga also assured the communities that the company would sustain its corporate social responsibility efforts.
He said the company had carefully selected the contractors that would handle the contracts.
