Delta to start producing cooking gas from water hyacinth – Commissioner

The Delta State Government on Thursday said it would soon commence the
production of cooking gas on commercial scale from water hyacinth.
This was contained in a statement issued in Asaba, the state capital,
by the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Patrick
Muoboghare.
The statement described the project as a pacesetter in the
Waste-to-Wealth drive by the State Government.
Muoboghare said that the project had been a huge success and that it
would make Deltans and Nigerians proud.
The commissioner, however, acknowledged that the project had faced
some challenges usually associated with breaking new grounds.
He said that the challenges were surmountable, since they had nothing
to do with production but with leakage of gas from the storage
chambers, after long storage.
Muoboghare said that the State Government “is on top of this challenge
as the governor is very much interested in committing fund to drive
the project”.
He said the project would assist to actualise the “Delta Beyond Oil
Dream” and ensure that Deltans benefited maximally.
While extolling the beauty of the project, the commissioner pointed
out that apart from providing cooking gas from water hyacinth, the
potential of the project was high.
He said that the potential include the sale of the residue from gas
production as organic manure to farmers and clearing the water ways,
among other benefits.
The commissioner also said that money generated from the sale of the
cooking gas would be used to fund other projects in the state.
Muoboghare said that the project would be replicated at Ogor, Kwale
and Okwagbe in Ughelli North, Ndokwa West and Ughelli South Local
Government Areas respectively, where water hyacinths were in
abundance.
He said the ministry would soon call for admissions into the six
technical colleges in the state, for students who were technically
inclined to produce the bulk of the manpower needed for the project.