Asaba film village, leisure park will boost economy, create jobs – Okowa

The Governor of Delta, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, says Asaba Film Village and Leisure Park when completed, will boost the state’s economy and create jobs for unemployed youths.

Okowa gave the assurance on Monday after an inspection tour of some ongoing projects in the state, including the film village, leisure park and the new technical college in Asaba.

He said that the state government would continue to give priority attention to projects that would boost the economy and enhance the living conditions of the people.

“The twin-project of film village and leisure park would serve as a community where people would go for entertainment, relaxation and watch movies.

“The project, will on completion, also create employment opportunities for many persons, especially, during this period where the number of the unemployed is increasing,” he said.

The governor said that Asaba had always been a “movie town”, saying that the film village would positively impact on the economy of the state.

Okowa, however, said that the project was billed for completion in 2021 given the circumstances of the nation.

“The leisure park is of great importance to us because whatever you do, there is need for relaxation and we believe that the park will provide that relaxation for both our children and adults.

“People need somewhere to go and relax in a fast-growing city like Asaba and I believe that the leisure park is going to be of great value to our people. It is going to be a project that will generate quite a lot of funds with good management,” he said.

The governor noted that the state, particularly Asaba, had been the hub of Nollywood actors and after, he had met with them, they made a request and “we find out that it was important to encourage them”.

“At the film village, we are going to have a lot of facilities that will encourage more and more of our Guild of Actors to come to Asaba to shoot their movies.

“The village which is properly sited, will create a lot of economic activities and also create a recreation for our people,” Okowa said.

The governor, who was impressed with the level work done at the new technical college, commended the contractor handling the project and urged him to sustain the pace of work to ensure timely delivery.

He said that the state government was committed to building nine new technical colleges, which currently were at various levels of execution.

“It was a proactive step to give the people opportunity to acquire technical education aimed at turning the youth into an army of entrepreneurs,” he said.

Okowa promised to also visit the sites of the other eight technical colleges to ensure a steady progress on the projects.

It was reported that the governor and his team were conducted round the film village, leisure park and others by the Project Consultant, Mr Kester Ifeadi, who pledged the company’s commitment to deliver the project in 2021.