The SCD JV (Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo Joint Venture) will sustain its penchant for adherence to global best practice in industrial crisis management as well as stakeholder management in its host community environments, Kristina Reports has learnt.

The SCD JV has been faced with a three week impasse resulting from an industrial action by aggrieved workers under the aegis of the National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO) at the Train 7 project site which it is managing as Engineering, Procurement and Engineering (EPC) contractor for the project owners, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) in Bonny Island, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Speaking to Kristina Reports, an official of the joint venture, who pleaded anonymity, said “we have taken cognizance of the situation at hand and engaging with relevant stakeholders to find an amicable resolution to the crisis”.

“If anyone expects us to do anything outside the purview of existing laws in Nigeria and breach the rights of workers in the course of resolving this, that would not happen.’

“Our only challenge is that there has been an existing template for engaging the workers before now and collective bargaining agreement has been done utilizing that template. To begin on a fresh note and a different template as been agitated for is a big challenge.”  

He, however, advised the protesting workers and other aggrieved parties to confine their agitation within the ambit of existing laws in Nigeria and recuse themselves from the temptation of resorting to self-help, stressing that the various windows of dialogue should be utilized for an amicable resolution.

He was emphatic about the SCD JV’s empathetic posture towards its host community stakeholders and its predisposition to positive relationship with community gatekeepers, workers, local businesses and all other stakeholders.

The official further asserted that the SCD JV would ensure the actualization of the expected beneficial outcomes of the Train 7 project, its impact on the local economy and sustainability of the gains of the project in Bonny and Nigeria as a whole.

SCD JV is a consortium of three global firms delivering the EPC component of the $10billion project, which is expected to increase by 35% the capacity of the current 6-Train gas liquefaction plant from the existing 22 Million Tonnes Per Annum (mtpa) to 30mtpa. 

The project, which was recently rated 30% complete by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, is envisaged to attract about $5billion foreign direct investment (FDI), engender the creation of 10,000 direct jobs and about 40,000 indirect employment opportunities, as well as provide jobs for contractors, fabricators, logistics companies and more.