Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State says the Enugu mega asphalt plant has the capacity to produce 3,200 tons of asphalt daily.

Mbah said this on Thursday at the inauguration of the plant at Emene in Enugu East Council Area.

He said the state would also produce inputs for asphalt production, adding that the effort would drastically reduce the cost of road construction for the state.

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He said that building the plant was in furtherance to his campaign promise to construct 10,000 roads in eight years.

“This is an event that brings us closer to our dream of bidding our collapsed and unpaved roads goodbye.

“This special state-of-the-art asphalt production plant is designed to produce 160 tons of asphalt per hour.

“It will produce 2.5 tons every minute and 160 tons per hour.

“What this means is that, if we decide to work 20 hours in a day, we can produce 3,200 tons every day.

“This is not seen anywhere in the South-East,” the governor said.

According to him, in a few days from now, the state would also be inaugurating a plant for mining and crushing the stones needed to feed the asphalt plant.

“It is our hope that we are going to start the exploration of bitumen in the state because we are also blessed with it,” he said.

“This brings us closer to the dream of paving a minimum of 1,000 kilometers every year in the state. This is not heard of anywhere.

“We are talking about a length of road that you know is even a challenge to have in eight years.

“So, this means that all our urban roads will be paved and just a few weeks ago, we announced the approval of N183 billion for the construction of 141 urban roads and 20 rural roads.

“Therefore, our projection on roads is not a dream, but something we are already beginning to implement,” Mbah said.

Earlier in separate speeches, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Gerald Otiji; Special Adviser to the Governor on Project Development and Implementation, Mr Uchenna Nwatu, and the Technical Manager of the plant, Mitesh Prajapati, said the plant was of high standard.

Nwatu said that the plant, which is a Fabhind product, is eco-friendly and would help the citizenry to benefit from smoother, safer, and more durable road networks.

“This asphalt batch mix plant boasts of several special features that set it apart from others,” he said.