Masters Energy Industrial City will soon become a hub of economic activities as construction work on seven companies belonging to the Group in petrochemicals, lubricant, organic fertilizer, plastic, food processing plants are nearing completion.
The Industrial City, located in the relatively peaceful town of Onuaku, Uturu in Abia State would be ready for commissioning in few months time, according to checks by THISDAY.
About 14,000 direct jobs would be created when some of the plants in the Energy Industrial City would have commenced operation.
"Empowerment of Nigerians has been our major concern. Masters Energy has created so many jobs in the system. We have created over 4,000 direct jobs and 1,200 indirect jobs in the Nigeria as a result of our investment. This figure is expected to grow over to 14,000 direct jobs when some of our plants in Masters Energy Industrial City,
Uturu commence operation soon," said a company source.
To bridge the supply gap in the equalisation of petroleum products to the South East, South-South and North East regions of the country, Masters Energy, in 2006 acquired over 143 hectares of land in Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt for the construction of an ultra modern integrated oil & gas logistics centre, christened “Masters Energy City”, making the company the first and only wholly Nigerian one-stop Energy Solution Provider.
Within the Energy City is petroleum products storage facility of 158,000 MT storage capacity. This facility has bridged the supply gap of petroleum products in those areas.
The Masters Energy City has a $10million fabrication yard. The fabrication yard will assist to retain the construction of equipment and oil and gas related facilities in the country. It will also assist to curb the outflow of foreign exchange taken offshore by oil firms to fabricate equipment abroad.
The Yard recently solely constructed and fabricated a 1000MT Barge. This Barge has been deployed to operations.
Uchechukwu S. Ogah (born 22 December 1969) is a Nigerian oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Ogah is the President of Master Energy Group, a conglomerate with over 15 subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries. Ogah holds the Nigerian national honour, the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
His achievements speaks louder than amplified percussion in an orchestra held inside a massive ampi-theatre. His is the story of a man who is making a difference not only in the business front but also in his community and beyond. At the level of small talk, you can hardly get the best out of him. But sooner than later it becomes obvious that this thinker, ex-banker and restless entrepreneur has other far more serious things on his mind. You immediately glean this when the conversation meanders into business, risks, success or failure of business ideas. His physical frame pales besides the size of his mental prowess and vision. One marvels by the sheer audacity and size of his ventures. His views of compassion and empathy for the poor is carefully balanced on the need to make profit and grow his business. As he leans forward to provide insights into the workings of his mind in this interview, he transmits unmistakable vibrations of energy deeply rooted in community service. You are blown away as he takes you on an excursion tour of his business trajectory. Everything appears insanely massive but that is to the undiscerning and perhaps, the uninitiated. In the world of Uche Ogah, size appears to be everything. Though, reluctant to take credit for anything, according to him, he is merely "crystallizing God's vision in him."
Just one instance of his big vision projects is the establishment of a gigantic industrial complex, Masters Industrial City, located at Onuaku in Uturu, Abia State, a sleepy community, largely forgotten by government but is being gradually put on the industrial map of, not only Abia State, but the entire South East region and beyond. A son of the soil has risen and he is gradually but steadily transforming the community to potentially becoming an industrial hub, once the project streams into life on completion by December of 2015. This particular facility sits on a total of 623 hectares of virgin land donated by the local community for the purpose of development.
On the key motivation behind this new project? Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah, President of Masters Energy Group smiles briefly. "It was mainly to create more jobs. A whole lot of youths are idle. Today, we have over 200 people for a start working on the project on a daily basis. If you look at the lives of the people that have been employed by this project you can see considerable improvement. That is why we don't experience vices such as kidnapping and armed robbery around here because everybody is engaged. To be honest, that is what really motivated the idea of setting up this project."
In further clarification, he explains that the laying of the foundation of the project was done by the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Theodore Orji, in December 2011 and gives some insights into the related project delay. His words: "Originally we wanted the completion time to be within 12 months, but because of the crisis in the industry, it slowed the pace of development of the project. Our intention now is that before the end of 2015 we would have commissioned the project officially. At the end of the day we should be able to generate a minimum of 5,000 jobs and you will see a big difference in the lives of the people working there and difference in the community.
"If you pay N100, 000 a month to someone in Lagos and pay the same amount to someone in Abia around here, you will see that the person from Abia will appreciate it more and his own N100, 000 will be able to do more than that being paid to someone living in Lagos. It contributes to the transformation agenda of the Federal Government and if you take a look at the entire place, I believe this is what you will call real transformation. Transformation you can see, verify and feel." Not many know that the Masters Energy Group employs over 6000 Nigerians in gainful employment, according to the big boss. But looking at the big picture, industrial cities all over the world follow certain specific patterns and it would be enlightening to glean the particular development model Ogah is pushing here - in terms of how many companies and the mix and diversity of the domiciled industries in the entrepreneurial city.
According to the business guru, the industrial city would have (1)ALSA Petrochemical Industries limited, which involves a petrochemical plant. It we would also host on completion, (2) a lubricant plant, (3)a plastic manufacturing plant and a (4) food processing plant. The outfit would also have an (5) organic fertilizer processing plant, (6) a palm oil processing plant and (7) a steel processing plant for the production of pipes and steel for the E&P for the oil and gas industries.
At the back of the massive complex, notes Ogah, "We would have what we visualize to be an AGRICULTURAL CITY. The agricultural city that would house a (
gigantic poultry farm which is going to be one of the best if not the
best in the South-East of the Niger . It is going to have a (9) fish
farm; it is going to have a (10) green house where we would produce
vegetables and other arable products for export. At the end of the day
we want to develop this place far beyond where we are today and to key
into the transformation agenda."All the projects associated with the Masters Energy Group boss are massive, including even his Port Harcourt project involving a gas plant. What could possibly inspire all of these? He quickly provides something of a divine hand. "For me, God and his words are my inspiration because God gives us the vision and when God gives us the vision, he drives us because we can't drive ourselves the way he would drive us.
Again, the question of size comes to play; Masters Energy Group is reputed to own the biggest depot and jetty facility in the country located in Port Harcourt. "Oh yes. even though we do not struggle for publicity. It is non-contestable that we have the biggest depot in the country. The issue we have is that our depot has not been fully utilized to its full capacity; which is why we are appealing that we need government patronage to fully harness the potentials of that depot. It was built with the strategic intention of ensuring that the entire South-East and South-South is awash with petroleum products all seasons, with a total capacity of 158,000 metric tonnes." There is more. Often, Ogah's conglomerate has been credited with making products readily available in the region since his Port Harcourt depot came on stream. In explaining the true position, he notes that in reality, this was true. "Well, it is the fact of the matter and everyone knows this because Masters Energy has become a household name in the entire South-South and South-East. Masters Energy controls the market. Once we have product we always dictate the market and we make sure that these product gets to the masses. Currently we have over a hundred retail outlets and that gives us the capacity to deliver these products conveniently to the masses."
Switching to related specifics, he tells THISDAY that capacity-wise, over 300 trucks load from that depot daily and delivers to different regions in the country which includes South-South, South-East, South-West, North-East and all over. What is the funding profile of the Industrial City under construction in Uturu and what is the estimated cost of project completion? Ogah smiled, not exactly willing to give much away in terms of specifics but admits it runs in the billions of naira mark. "I cannot give a specific figure for now. I can't say for now until everything has been fully articulated, which, as I mentioned, is one of the last things we will deal with before it kicks off. The project is being funded from both foreign and local sources. There is also some equity funding involved. So, we can say what the actual cost is by the time we have completed the budget. But I know that it would run into billions."
He goes on to give a picture of the international dimension of the project, explaining that for the fabrication company, "We are working with Zamile in Egypt and they are one of the best fabrication yards we have in the world. What we want to do is to build to last. So whatever you are doing you have to be able to build it to last the test of time for generations to come."
Hear him: "For me, as I have said, it is the vision that God gives you that you carry on. It is God that drives me and whatever he says I should do is what I do. For us everywhere we go and everything we touch we always aim to achieve real transformation. We started transformation in Port Harcourt when it was a militant zone. Now, if you go there it has attracted so many companies. At the end of the day our interest is how we can maximize investment towards the South-East, so the region can develop economically and we can arrest the restiveness of the youth in the region. We want people to be gainfully employed, live a better quality of life and we want to reduce the rate of vices within the region."
An inspirational figure to many who come in contact with him, no doubt. But who inspires Ogah; who are his role models? Again, he leans on the divine before mere mortals. And what has been the key challenges of his journey? According to him, "Apart from Jesus Christ as my hero, one man that I look up to is Alhaji Aliko Dangote because the man has touched so many lives and he is showing that individuals can really transform a nation. So, when you look up to a man like that and the things he is doing, then you too could also do things like that. That is why we have become a chain of companies involved in so many areas to transform the lives of people. We are involved in commodities, technology, finance and much more to keep moving the nation forward because the government cannot do it alone. The government needs the private sector to drive its transformation."
On the challenges of his business odyssey, he took a deep pause, cleared his throat, momentarily trying to articulate his response. Then he took a deep breath and in a measured and carefully chosen words, stated. "The challenges are not much different to the challenges that every small scale industry faced in the past but we have been able to weather the storm better than most. The challenges still continue but because God drives our vision, our successes will continue."
Just seven years on, Masters Energy Group has penetrated the market and is taking the business world by storm.
Driving into his Onuaku community, it is easy to see why Ogah enjoys such immense adulation from his people. His footprints are planted firmly in their everyday lives of his people. Virtually all the houses in the community were rebuilt by the Masters Energy boss. All the mud houses were pulled down and rebuilt in sparkling modern architecture, the central road and other adjourning ones in the community are all asphalted with street lights courtesy of Ogah. The community primary school was also rehabilitated and equipped with computers. His Foundation regularly doles out scholarship to indigenes and non-indigenes to further their education both within and outside the country. Medical bills are routinely paid for by him for many ailing people both within and outside his community.
His close associates describe him as "really a man of the people". Immensely successful by every conceivable standard. Yet, his whole life is about being simple. Preferring to work quietly behind the scene and very reluctant to talk about his philanthropic work. He seems to be guided by the divine admonition that his left hand mustn't necessarily see that which his right hand is giving out. So much for a man whose life's underpinning philosophy is impacting other peoples' lives on a larger scale.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201310071155.html
http://www.nairaland.com/1471022/private-project-3-abia-state
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/masters-energy-industrial-city-an-investment-hub/213422/
