Nigeria’s free trade zones attracted $46.4 billion investment: NEPZA
Nigeria’s free trade zones attracted over $46.6 billion in investments into the nation’s economy.
Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) managing director, Adesoji Adesugba and his counterpart from the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Tijjani Kaura, said this at the 30th anniversary of the free trade zones scheme in Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja.
Mr Adesugba said trade zones regulated by NEPZA attracted over $30 billion in investments since inception in 1992, while Kaura put the investments attracted by OGFZA since 1996 at $16.6 billion.
He said the global business model was meeting its objective of fast-tracking economic growth and industrialisation.
According to him, the decision of the federal government to key into this concept has remained legendary as the model has become a key driver of the nation’s economy.
While projecting a brighter future for the free trade zones, Mr Adesugba said that the business enclaves harbour over 600 enterprises providing 150,000 direct employment and an estimated 400,000 indirect employment.
“To date, the zones have attracted over $30 billion (in) investments which are expected to exponentially increase in the next few years with our sustained incentives and aggressive investment drive across the world,” stated the NEPZA boss. “The future is bright for the free trade zone scheme in Nigeria.”
He pledged that NEPZA would continue its reforms to position the scheme for global competitiveness.
According to him, the authority has established a special economic zones dispute resolution centre to mediate disputes among operators in the zones.
“NEPZA has also established a special economic zones security outfit to professionally secure lives and investments in the zones. More so, the Special Economic Zones Training Institute, Kano, will help bridge the knowledge gap in the free zones scheme,” Mr Adesugba explained.
According to him, the authority established an automated platform to digitise the scheme’s operations for enhanced efficiency and accountability.
(NAN)
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