Trade, industry and sundry stakeholders have commended Alaro City and its management for their efforts at repositioning Nigeria as a production economy. The stakeholders gave this commendation at a trade summit organized by the city in Lagos recently.
The summit was a gathering of industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders across the private and public sectors to discuss strategies to transform the Nigerian business ecosystem into one that is production-driven.
Alaro City is conceived as a 2,000-hectare city development located within the Northwest Quadrant of the Lekki Free Zone. It is a self-sustaining city furnished with industrial grade standard roads, including an 8-lane, 60-meter-wide boulevard which is one of the largest privately owned roads in Africa. The city boasts 24-hour electricity via its privately owned IPP, water, drains, sewage as well as access to ICT.
The city is being developed by Rendeavour, Africa’s biggest new city builder, whose mixed-income cities provide homes, offices, industrial areas, schools and hospitals, allowing residents to live, work and play without the daily burden of commuting into and across congested regions.
This antecedent, coupled with the city’s background, explains why the trade summit served as a vibrant platform for forging valuable connections, insightful discussions, constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas on pressing issues, best global practices, and emerging opportunities.
Various stakeholders acknowledged the unique opportunity presented by Alaro City in creating a sustainable, eco-friendly business model that empowers companies and investors to operate in a seamless environment that positively impacts business objectives.
“Alaro City has been deliberate in its efforts to provide an enabling environment for businesses. Critical road infrastructure investments within the city and connections to the Lekki Expressway and Deep Sea Port allow businesses to optimize manufacturing and foster trade with partners across Nigeria and around the world,” Yomi Ademola, Alaro City Managing Director, said.
Ademola added that businesses enjoy an increase in profit of approximately 43 percent from the various Free Zone tax incentives when they establish their businesses in Alaro City.
He noted that the city has a good track record of productivity with SMEs, international companies, multinationals, and domestic players as a distribution and production hub, citing Ariel Foods, which operates in the therapeutic food sector where Nigeria is a net importer. He noted further that the company is making a significant contribution to making Nigeria a net exporter in that field.
Mosopefolu George, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, stated that the state government was proud of the level of progress made in Alaro City, especially from the project kick-off to the current level of export activities.
George noted that the Lekki Free Zone in which Alaro City is situated is the fastest growing corridor in West Africa, hence the deliberate investment by the state government in critical developments, including road upgrades, transportation and the 4th Mainland Bridge for seamless accessibility.
The commissioner also stated that the state government is very focused and committed to ensuring that businesses within the state thrive, and that has been the driving rationale for the focus on investing in social developments, Human Capital development and human impact projects that ease the lives of residents and improve business productivity.
