Calabar(NAN) An industrial park expected to attract N23 billion private sector investments and employ no fewer than 3,000 people in Cross River has been inaugurated in Calabar by Gov. Liyel  Imoke.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Portside Industrial Park is an “owner-built’’ petroleum and allied products tank farm layout.

Inaugurating the park in Calabar on Wednesday, Imoke said that the park was strategically located on the Calabar River Channel adjacent to the Calabar Port Complex and covered approximately 49 hectares of land.

Imoke said the project was initiated in 2007 in furtherance of his administration’s commitment to provide a safe environmentally friendly infrastructure where petroleum products would be stored for loading.

The governor said the design of the industrial park was undertaken by AIKENBECK Resources Limited under a public-private sector partnership.

He said the project was initiated to increase the overall petroleum and allied products storage capacity in Nigeria.

`He said: “Today we have further demonstrated our commitment toward developing the downstream sector in the state and we are doing this in a safe and environmentally-friendly manner.

“Portside have been borne from our commitment and interest in harnessing the strength of the private sector as we strive to achieve one of our main goals, the economic development of Cross River.

According to Imoke, the ground-breaking ceremony for the project marks the first phase of the Calabar Energy Project.

In his remarks, the Chief Operating Officer of AIKENBECK, Mr Olaniyi Ogini, said the operation of the tank firms in a controlled area would ease the process of ensuring compliance with applicable regulations and requirements.

He said: “We at AIKENBECK look forward to showcasing the engineering feat for which we break ground today. In the coming months we will see new road layouts seemingly plugging into the existing network.

“We will showcase an ingenious two-berth jetty arrangement that is capable of receiving cargo tankers from as low as 2,000 metric tonnes and up to 30,000 metric tonnes at the completion of the dredging of the Calabar channel.

NAN learnt that the industrial park expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012 would have a well-designed asphalt access road to be used exclusively by tankers and trucks from the Calabar metropolis to the park.