N170.5bn has been committed in investments to the Lekki Free Trade
Zone(LFTZ), to make it one of the most successful free trade zones in
Africa.
This was made known by the Minister of Trade and Investment,
Olusegun Aganga,the LFTZ Investment Forum and opening ceremony of the
Eko Expo 2012, in Lagos, on
He added that the zone would be able to provide 300,000 direct and 600,000 indirect jobs in the next five years.
He added that the zone would be able to provide 300,000 direct and 600,000 indirect jobs in the next five years.
“Nigeria is trying to replicate the
China’s innovation of free trade zone for economic development. The
highest Gross Domestic Product rate of the Chinese economy is from
investment in the free trade zone and that is exactly what we are trying
to do in Nigeria.” Aganga said.
Some of the top investors in the zone
include Puma Energy Free Zone Enterprise, which has already embarked on
investment in oil and gas terminal depot construction. The company,
according to the LFTZ management, is set to invest $400m (N6.2bn) in the
zone, with construction work already ongoing.Others are Imad Oil and
Gas FZE, which is investing $200m (N3.1bn; China Railway Construction
Corporation ($50m); and YFK Pharmaceutical FZE ($30m), among others.
Also at the event, the Lagos State
Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, challenged Nigerian investors to
invest massively in the free trade zone, saying, “Nobody will develop
the Nigerian economy if we fail to invest in our own economy”.
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