As efforts are in top gear to make Anambra State the technology hub of the country, Governor Charles Soludo has asserted that his government is committed to turning the state into a destination centre rather than a departure lounge.
Soludo stated that his administration is on the right course in actualizing that vision as he is poised to implement the right policies that will put in place the necessary infrastructure to make Anambra State the hub of innovation, the Silicon Valley of the country.
He made the assertion at the grand ceremony of the just concluded Anambra Innovation Week which provides a unique platform for startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators to showcase their ideas, connect with investors, and access valuable resources and mentorship, on Thursday, 29th November 2024, in Awka, the state capital.
Governor Soludo said his transformation agenda for Anambra state was anchored on the African Dubai Taiwan Silicon Valley (ADTSV) as against the already known African Dubai Taiwan (ADT) mantra and that plans were on to achieve this vision.
” It is no more ADT but ADTSV, and Anambra is innovation hub. This place is an innovation state,” he said.
He said the Solution Fun City, primed to be the biggest in West Africa, is quickly becoming a dream come true and will be commissioned in some weeks to come.
According to Governor Soludo, other ongoing projects in the state to make it a destination point include the 10-storey Marriott Hotel in Awka, and the 20-hectare Awka City Leisure and Entertainment Park which is being designed with up-to-the-minute technology. Not left out is the workaround Agulu Lake, the master plans for the four of Anambra’s historic tourist sites which are being undertaken by an international consultant, the quality road network around the state capital Awka, and other developmental projects of global standards.
On road infrastructure, Soludo affirmed that existing projects will be completed while new ones are being initiated, with approximately 310 kilometers already asphalted in 30 months, and with unparalleled quality. The Ekwulobia flyover and bus terminal are nearing completion. The dualisation of the 34-kilometre federal highway from Amawbia through Agulu, Ekwulobia, and Uga to the Imo State border, as well as the dualisation of 36 kilometres from Nwagu Agulu-Nnobi- Nnewi, Ozubulu to Okija, linking to the Onitsha-Owerri highway, is a game changer.
At the event, Soludo rewarded start-ups, inventors, and youths with solutions that address various societal and technology issues, with cash prizes and grants to further develop their ingenuity.
In her remark, Ms. Chinwe Okoli, Special Adviser on Innovation and Business Incubation, affirmed that the Innovation Week saw investors, like the leading financial institutions in the country, in attendance, to partner in nurturing talents in the innovation programmes of the state government, such as the ‘One-Youth-Two-Skill, and the ‘One Million Digital Tribe’ training programme through the Solution Innovation District (SID)., a technology hub.
Photo Caption
A winner of the second position in the Non-Anambra Start-ups.
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