The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project has announced that 75 per cent of the restoration work on 560 hectares of oil-degraded mangroves in Ogoni, Rivers State, has been completed.

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HYPREP also reported that shoreline cleanup in the area has reached a 20 per cent completion rate, while the agency prepares to begin a socio-economic study of Ogoni in January 2025.

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These updates were shared by HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, during a project review meeting with key Ogoni stakeholders in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

Zabbey emphasised the importance of the meeting, describing it as a platform for stakeholders to reflect on HYPREP’s achievements, address challenges, and strengthen collaborations to sustain progress.

“Permit me to highlight the significant milestones recorded in critical areas of this project,” he said. “Our community-led restoration of 560 hectares of oil-degraded mangroves is now 75 per cent complete. Shoreline cleanup has reached a 20 per cent completion rate, and soil and groundwater remediation at medium-risk, complex sites has made substantial progress.”

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Zabbey noted that as remediation efforts advanced, more areas would become available for farming, fishing, and other productive uses, improving food security and livelihoods for the people of Ogoni and neighboring regions dependent on the ecosystem.

He also disclosed that HYPREP was in talks with the African Development Bank to establish an agro-industrial processing hub in Ogoni.

He added, “The construction of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration has reached 70 per cent completion. This facility will serve as a hub for vocational training, cutting-edge research, and innovative remediation technologies. It will also house a repository of HYPREP’s extensive data and experiences for future reference.”

Regarding clean water access, Zabbey highlighted HYPREP’s commitment to enhancing public health, saying, “We recognise the importance of sustainable access to clean water and are making deliberate efforts to expand these interventions.”

He noted said the agency’s various activities in Ogoni had created over 7,000 direct and ancillary indirect jobs for youths and women in the community.

A unique internship programme for 40 young Ogoni graduates in science and engineering at the Centre of Excellence site, he explained, aims to boost their employability.

Looking ahead, Zabbey revealed that the socio-economic study of Ogoni will begin in January 2025.

“This study will inform the development of a comprehensive blueprint for Ogoni’s socio-economic development,” he said.