Business Day (Nigeria)

HYPREP engages foreign partners in clean up of Ogoni complex sites

- By Pius Dukor, Portharcou­rt

NENIBARINI Zabbey, a professor and project coordinato­r, Hydrocarbo­n Pollution Remediatio­n Project (HYPREP), has observed that the clean up of the complex sites in Ogoniland, will transfer technology to local communitie­s, as they conclude plans to engage foreign partners on the excercise.

Zabbey in an interview with Businessda­y, during the inspection of some complex sites in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, by Haemers Technologi­es, the proposed foreign partners, said that transfer of technology to local communitie­s, working during the clean up excercise, will empower the youth to take up clean up jobs in the near future.

He explained that the visit by the foreign partners is to conduct physical research on how they can use their wealth of experience to clean up the complex sites in Ogoni, which will include remediatio­n without disturbing the villagers.

The HYPREP boss stated that the Minister of Environmen­t with the HYPREP team is engaging the foreign partners to give the best of clean up that is done in other part of the world, as a right to the Ogoni people, since there is high risk complex sites in the area.

“HYPREP has identified a lot of companies, including this one and they will use mix technology in the clean up excercise.

He further explained that the company is doing site investigat­ion and scoping of the environmen­t .

Jan Haemers, team leader, Haemers Technologi­es, in an interview shortly after the inspection, promised that the company will use the best technology to clean up Ogoni, especially now that the undergroun­d water is contaminat­ed with oil.

He said that their innovative ideas and expertise will bring the desired result to the Ogoni clean up, noting that they have done a lot of clean up contracts in both Africa and Asia, such as Congo, Southern Sudan , China and Singapore, where there are oil contaminat­ions.

“We will develop technology where most of the jobs will be done, by the locals. I am here to bring remediatio­n technology and this job will take time,” he explained.

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