Anambra State government has donated land to the Federal Government for the establishment of an automotive industrial park in Nnewi, the second-biggest commercial town in the state.
Nnewi, regarded as ‘Detroit of Nigeria’ is home to Innoson Motors, the first indigenous motor manufacturing firm in Nigeria, as well as a large number of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) that are engaged in the manufacture of car and motorcycle spare parts.
Chris Azubogu, member, representing, Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, confirmed the development at the just concluded Nnewi Economic Summit organised by TBWA and C&F PorterNovelli with funding from Ford Foundation.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Anambra State government had already sited the first out of the three approved automotive Industrial parks in the country in Nnewi.
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“I can reliably tell you that Governor Willie Obiano, has handed over the land for the project to the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment and as we talk, they have already moved to the site.
“I can assure you that in a couple of weeks, we will still come back here in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Nigerian Automotive Design and Development Council, to sensitize people on the automotive industrial park”.
The Federal Government is working with the Anambra State government on a number of things, to boost business in the state and create wealth for the people, Jumoke Oduwole, special assistant to the President on Ease of Doing Business, affirmed.
According to Oduwole, a number of practical reforms and projects are ongoing. Nnewi is a success story and the Vice President has visited all the places that we have been to today and the people told me, promises made many years ago. I’m glad that Chris Azubogu is here because he has been part of those projects and he will be able to tell you practically, what is going on and not what we are planning or what we should, but what is actually going on.
“He will tell you what’s going on in the area of power, what’s going on in the area of the ports, the rail, roads, and broadband. We are not going to tell you about promises we’ve made, but projects that are going on now that will affect your businesses, positively.
“We have worked well together on a number of reforms. At the national assembly, for instance, a law has been passed that would enable MSMEs to have access to credit. We are also working on the Companies and Allied Matters Act, which is about to be passed and I am delighted to have Azubogu’s support on that.
“Just to say to you that a lot is going on, but I am not asking you to be patient and I am not going to ask you not to demand what really you should get.
“SME is the lifeblood of the economy. It employs 84 percent of job seekers in the country. Over 90 percent of registered businesses in Nigeria are SMEs and it contributes just 50 percent to Nigeria’s GDP. So, it is not a coincidence that I spent two days of my week here in Nnewi, just to listen. What we do is to listen, implement and then track,” she stated.
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