Turkey to partner Nigeria in construction of Dams and irrigation facilities.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed willingness to partner with construction companies from Turkey to construct more dams and development of irrigation facilities in Nigeria.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe made this known when she received delegation from Turkey led by the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mustapha Pulad.

The Minister was responding to the Turkish Ambassador’s request when he said that the essence of their visit was to explore possibility of partnering with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in the construction activities in the water sector.

Ochekpe said, “Let me say that we have more than 200 dams and in the area of irrigation, we have been able to develop over 150,000 hectares of land; we still have more that are yet to be developed because the potentials we have for irrigation is over 3 Million hectares of land, so we are willing, if you are ready to partner with us to expand what we have been doing in terms of construction of more dams both for the purposes of water supply, hydropower generation and irrigation to boost our agriculture.”

She said, “We commend your advancement in the area of irrigation development and water infrastructure, we want to partner with you, and we want to learn from you.  Nigeria is the largest country in Africa, the potential for business is enormous so we want to partner with people who are willing to assist us.”

Earlier, the leader of the delegation who is also the Turkish Ambassador, Mr. Mustapha Pulad introduced the delegation as representatives of various reputable construction companies in Turkey who want to establish their companies in Nigeria.  Their areas of focus according to the Ambassador, include dam construction, irrigation, railway station, energy among others.

He solicited for cooperation not only on economic but also in education and health as thousands of Nigerians go to Turkey for studies.  “The presence of Turkish schools in Nigeria, Turkish University and Hospital in Abuja are symbols of our good relationship and cooperation”; he said.