Nigeria:  Nigeria president promises shipyard

Abuja - Nigeria's president says Hyundai Heavy Industries Co of South Korea will build a multibillion-dollar shipyard in the country's oil-rich southern delta.



A statement late on Thursday from President Goodluck Jonathan's office said the shipyard will be built in Brass in Bayelsa state, his homeland. The statement said Jonathan met with Jai-Seong Lee, the CEO of the Hyundai subsidiary, in Nigeria's capital Abuja.



The statement said the shipyard will be completed by next year. When finished, the statement said the first phase of the project will employ 2 000 Nigerians.



Residents of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, faces crushing unemployment and poverty despite being a top crude oil supplier to the United States. The government has promised other projects in the past that failed to materialize.