Founded in 1895, Brass used to be, traditionally, a fishing settlement. But early in the 19th century, it became a strategic route not only for slave trade but for palm produce and was aptly dubbed the “Venice of Niger Delta” by some authors. In today’s Nigeria, Brass is unarguably to Bayelsa what Lekki is to Lagos.
Brass is an emerging investment and industrial hub. While the Lekki free trade zone and the Dangote Free Zone Enterprise both located in Lekki, Lagos parade a world class refinery and a Deep Sea Port with potentials for huge domestic and foreign investments, Brass Oil and Gas Free City Zone, when fully operational, is blessed with a Liquified Natural Gas plant, a proposed refinery and a port terminal that is blessed with several jetties, with proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
Yes, like Lekki, Brass is certainly not a deep sea port but its potentials, when fully harnessed, will not only create thousands of jobs but has what it takes to be one of the biggest industrial hubs in the South South region of Nigeria as the Bayelsa Government shops for investors to kickstart construction of the Agge Deep Seaport in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the State.
Brass benefits from being a strategic location for maritime activities with its established oil terminals and proximity to international shipping routes. This makes it ideal for oil exports and port development activities. And categorizing it as Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone City recently by the Federal Government comes with some huge advantages.
Recall that the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGZA) was established by section 2 of the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Act No 8 of 1996. The scheme was first enacted through the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) Act 63 of 1992. The decision to create the Agency was in tandem with global practice where free trade zones were adopted as catalysts for economic growth. Thus, operations of free trade zones was a deliberate incentive to stimulate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Direct Investment, (DDI), to help generate employment, infrastructural development, transfer of technology and skills, and boost productivity profile.
In keeping with their mandates, these two regulatory agencies are reported to have, through their activities, led to an upsurge in no fewer than 625 enterprises, providing 150,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect jobs with a total Investment put at about $26 billion. And this is exactly the expectation of some commentators who believe that the Brass option should be explored to the fullest as Bayelsa awaits project Agge Deep Seaport to move out of the drawing board. And with the 21 kilometer Brass road under construction by the Bayelsa State Government nearing completion, Brass Oil and Gas City could become a potential industrial hub of Bayelsa State.
Brass is home to the NLNG project. The project includes LNG facilities, processing plants, storage facilities and proposed transportation systems designed for export of natural gas. Oil terminals and offshore platforms are already in Brass due to the presence of major oil companies operating in the Niger Delta. And besides, Brass offers more opportunities in oil and gas and ancillary services, which can lead to faster economic development in the local communities.
Brass also enjoys proximity to major offshore infrastructure such as Agbami, Bonga, Egina, Anyalla and Madu oil installations. For instance, it takes less time to travel from Brass to these facilities than from Port Harcourt. The implication is that taxes paid to Bayelsa State Government will make a huge impact on her IGR.
It is also worthy of note that Brass has already secured international investments through the energy and maritime sectors. Brass also has a high potential for eco- tourism due to its coastal location and its biodiversity. All these and come with the huge potentials of making Brass the number one investment destination hub for the Bayelsa State Government which Governor Douye Diri should not waste time in grabbing.
LAST LINE
A few days ago, I extended an Invitation to the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, DR ABUBAKAR DANTSOHO, to pay His Excellency, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, a courtesy call and to use the opportunity of the visit to stop over at the Brass Terminal which no NPA helmsman had visited, an invitation he gladly accepted. He promised to make the visit early in the new year during which he hopes to explore areas of collaboration and partnership with Governor Douye Diri who is keen on harnessing the full potentials of the marine and blue economy sector.