The Plateau government is paying special attention to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), as part of efforts to boost economic growth and provide jobs, its governor, Simon Lalong, said on Tuesday in Jos.
Represented by his deputy, Sonni Tyoden, Lalong, who spoke at the opening of the Jos 2018 Trade Fair, said that government had signed an MOU with development partners to reconstruct the burnt Jos Main Market, revive the abandoned 5-Star Hotel and complete the Heipang Dry port.
“The SMEs will provide jobs, generate revenue and improve the living standard of the populace,” he explained.
Lalong said that government was also partnering with NESCO, a power generating firm, for the building of Plateau State Power Generation Plant.
The governor advised exhibitors/investors to use the fair to establish beneficial business relationships that would result in the establishment of cottage industries in the state, and assured them of adequate security throughout the activity.
The Chairman of the occassion, Mr Ignatius Longjan, in an address, urged the people of the state to live in peace with one another, noting that development was impossible in a chaotic environment.
The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Usman Idi, in an address, urged the state government to build a permanent Trade Fair Complex to strengthen the Plateau economy.