By Seun Adams
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and Home Resources and Products Limited on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on global technical partnership in real estate/construction, energy infrastructure, industrial infrastructure among other areas of national interest.
The two parties signed the MoU at NASENI Headquarters when Executive Chairman of Home Resources and Products Limited Arc. Chris Nwofor led a delegation on a visit to the Overseeing Officer, office of the Executive Vice Chairman /CE of NASENI in Abuja.
The objective of the MoU which is to create a collaboration and global partnership arrangement between the parties in the development of components, semi-finished and finished products in construction and industry will lead to industrial revolution agenda of the present administration.
In her remarks, the Overseeing Officer, Office of the Executive Vice Chairman /CE of NASENI Mrs. Nonyem Onyechi, who said that Home Resources and Products Limited (HRP) mandates has linkages to those of NASENI, expressed the agency’s commitment and willingness to partner with the private sector investor on areas of identified mutual benefits for both parties.
According to her, all the areas of interest listed by HRP cuts across the mandates of NASENI Institutes especially reverse engineering which is one of the areas of specialization of the Agency.
She however, said that since HRP has started with Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Enugu, they should continue with other staff of the Agency that will be incorporated into NASENI team that will work with HRP team to start the implementation of the MoU.
Earlier in his speech, the Executive Chairman, Home Resources and Products Limited, Arc Chris Nwafor who hailed NASENI as a key agency of government that is capable of reducing high foreign content especially in the area of energy infrastructure in Nigeria, said the Agency has what it takes to make infrastructural development in Nigeria.
Nwofor said the agency’s overarching mandate and its set structures will go a long way in mitigating technical risks that may arise while leveraging on low-hanging fruits.
Both Parties desire to establish relations critical for research, skill development (education and training), the generation, acquisition, and adoption of knowledge (innovation and technology transfer), and the promotion of entrepreneurship (start-ups and spin-offs).
NASENI’S mandate among others include to establish and nurture an appropriate and dynamic Science and Engineering infrastructure base, for achieving home initiated and home sustained industrialization through the development of relevant processes, capital goods, and equipment including aviation and aeronautical technology necessary for job creation, for national economic well-being and progress.
HRP is a project and investment resource base organization that is geared towards realizing input-output spillovers for key infrastructure projects by bridging coordination failures between components, semi-finished and finished products necessary for infrastructure delivery. Its objective is to promote national competitiveness in construction as well as energy, agriculture, industrial and transportation infrastructure by reducing the cost of principal investments through capacity (equipment and personnel) building across relevant competencies. HRP strategy is co-location and process synergies, striving to reduce costs across sectoral value chains, and exploring latent markets thereby gaining scale economies.
Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Enugu being one of the Institutes under the supervision and control of NASENI and charged with the responsibility of development and production of scientific equipment, products, and their component systems and the transfer of same to private sector satellite industries/SMEs for mass production. SEDI-E has been selected by NASENI as the inception contact for the objective and areas of cooperation as contained in the MoU whilst other operating agencies of NASENI shall be coopted and covered by this MOU as it becomes necessary based on project requirements.
Signed: Chinyere Obiorah Ekwuazi, Chief Information Officer, NASENI.
