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By Amos Odeh, Yenagoa
The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) says it has not abandoned construction of the 200 bed capacity Emergency/Infectious Diseases hospital aimed at strengthening the fight against COVID-19.
The NNPC-Agip Joint Venture, on May 2, 2020 initiated the construction of a 200-bed capacity infectious diseases hospital for the South-South Zone.
Eni, the Italian parent company of NAOC, in a brief email response on the lull in the pace of work attributed the delays to “planning of civil construction and medical system.”
The statement from an Eni Spokesperson reads: “Site preparation works have been completed.
“Construction works will resume in the coming days, following a short lapse due to ensure the appropriate level of planning of civil construction and medical systems.”
The assurance follows expectations that a speedy completion of the facility would increase the less than 200 bed isolation capacity in Bayelsa with confirmed cases standing at 282, 124 active cases, 141 recoveries and 17 deaths
Gov Douye Diri, who performed the ground breaking ceremony on May 2 alongside Chief Timipre Sylva, minister of State for Petroleum and other dignitaries on June 24 expressed dissatisfaction at the pace of work.
Diri called on NAOC and its Joint Venture partners to expedite action on the completion of the 200-bed infectious diseases control hospital in Igbogene, a suburb of Yenagoa.
He expressed concern that nothing tangible seemed to have been done on the site after its foundation was laid more than two months ago as the construction site remained desolate.
Mr Lorenzo Fiorillo, managing director, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), had on May 2 said that the outbreak of the corona virus had put a lot of strain globally on health care systems and personnel.
Fiorillo who spoke through Mr Macwon Jitubo, head of Community Relations, NAOC, said that the company remained sympathetic to the threat posed by the coronavirus resulting to millions of deaths worldwide.
“Eni, the parent company of NAOC considers people to be at the core of its culture and fundamental to its business, aware that creation of reciprocal values is possible through the sharing of objectives.
“We are certain that the oil and gas industry as a whole shares in these values.
“It is for this reason that we are here today at this difficult period to perform the ceremony which will engender a valuable medical asset to the South South region of the country,” he said.