The promoters of the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) said its perfecting arrangements to bring the total private investments in the zone to a total of N1 trillion, about $2 billion by the end of this year.
Dinesh Rathi, the managing director/CEO of the Zone, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay, said the total investments deployed into the Lagos Free Zone by different companies currently stands at about N600 billion, equaling $1.2billion.
He said the N600 billion represents the total deployed investments to date within LFZ as well as investments made by respective tenants.
He listed the companies in the Zone to include the Lekki Port, which is the keystone project in the Zone, Kellogg’s, BASF, Colgate-Palmolive, Arla, Power Oil, Lekki Freeport Terminal, a subsidiary of CMA Terminals, SANA Building Systems, and CNC Logistics, among others.
Read also: $1.5bn Lekki Port seen spurring competition
On the opportunities available for companies within the zone, Rathi said that the formally implements the rules and procedures for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the port integration with the Zone will become a critical factor in making Nigeria a manufacturing and distribution hub for Africa.
“As an operator within the Zone, you can use the Lekki Port to bring your imports and export your finished products to the rest of Africa. Logistics has been one of the biggest challenges preventing Nigeria from becoming an export hub. We believe that the Lekki Port and LFZ combination can be a silver bullet to that problem.
Rathi said there are a lot of inefficiencies that apply to the container business in Nigeria today, and the presence of Lekki Port will significantly bring down the cost of logistics for those who import and export in Nigeria.
On his part, Adesoji Adesugba, the managing director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), said on the sideline of a recent Presidential visit to the port that the Lekki seaport, which is expected to handle mega-sized vessels, will have a multiplier effect on the Free Zone.
“We at NEPZA expect investments located inside the Lagos Free Zone to grow to $461 billion in 45 years. We are going to have thousands of Nigerians working here. The effect on the GDP will be awesome. The location of the port here is going to open doors for those who want to have their factories and production centres in the Lagos Free Zone. With this, Nigerian goods will be competitive. Companies will be able to employ more Nigerians rather than go outside to employ foreigners,” he explained.
On export, Adesugba said the incentives that the Lagos Free Zone provides will boost export activities due to its nearness to the biggest deep seaport in the sub-region.
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