Free trade zones’ efforts to fast track Nigeria’s industrialisation

The prospect of Nigeria truly harnessing all of its economic potentials to close up the obvious deficit rests with investing heavily in the free trade zone scheme as doing so would fast track the country’s quest for industrialisation.

The federal government is, however, not unaware of the stupendous economic leverages associated with the scheme which was why the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) was established far back 1992 to midwife this very important sector of the economy.

The Authority has under its control a total of 40 private and two public zones. Doubtlessly, Lagos state leverages on its closeness to the ocean, huge population and strong economy as comparative advantages that effortlessly attract most of the existing private zones while Kano and Calabar oversee the two public zones.

The contributions of the hundreds of enterprises in the various zones to the nation’s economy can only be imagined, just as the strides in infrastructure development are comparable to those found in Dubai, China, Malaysia, Egypt and such other countries applying the free zone concept dutifully.

Arguably, some of the private zones smoothly remodeling the pathway for the country’s industrialisation include Dangote Petrochemical Enterprise; Eko Atlantic; Ogun Guangdong; Lekki; Lagos FTZ; LADOL; Snake Insland Integrated Free Trade Zone (SIIFTZ); Quit Aviation Services; Newrest; NAHCO; Sky Chefs Things to Remember; and Alaro City among others.

These free zones are hosts to hundreds of enterprises, ranging from firms that produce complex to simple products with very high market demands.

Without these zones, perhaps the country’s quest for industrialisation could have been best described as a mere aspiration.

No wonder, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, the new managing director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) while on a familiarisation tour of the zones in Lagos axis between August 17 and August 22 described the Dangote Petrochemical Free Trade Zone Enterprise located in Lekki as an “awesome one-world project capable of fast tracking the country’s industrialisation process when concluded.”

The project majestically sits on 2, 700 hectares of land comprising of Petroleum Refinery, Dangote Fertiliser and other sundry manufacturing outfits.

The refinery section of the project is considered the largest single trail petroleum refinery in the world with capacity to produce 650,000 barrels per day making a total of 32 million tonne per annum.

Adesugba said some of the engineering and marine technologies used in the project could later be listed in the “Guinness Book of Record,” as according to him, the project has come to meet both the petroleum and fertilizer needs of the country.

“It is indeed a privilege for this project to be sited in Nigeria. This shows that Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, had long caught the vision of the country to become self-sustaining in the production of petrochemical products.

“We are fascinated by the energy both the expatriates and local work force have put into this work so far. The project has opened a vista for technology transfer, industrialisation, massive job creation, and training of local Engineers as well as apprenticeship in world class marine and petrochemical engineering procedures.

“Nigeria is, however, eager to see the completion of this project which shall open up the economy for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) drive. Dangote has used the free trade zone scheme to sustain the progress of work as all machinery and equipment from abroad to aid the project are tax and duty free.

“There is no gain saying that the project when completed will have multiplier positive effects on our economy and that of Africa, and the world as a whole. This is indeed a one-world project capable of fast tracking the country’s industrialisation,” Adesugba said.

The NEPZA chief executive reiterated that only the free trade zone concept had guaranteed lofty incentives that included non- payment of taxes, customs duties and such other free levies that were hitherto alien to the operation of businesses outside of the zones.

Re-echoing Adesugba’s accolades on the Dangote petrochemical zone enterprise, Capt. Rajen Sachar, head, Marine and Port Infrastructure overseeing the project, said Alhaji Aliko Dangote had placed a standing instruction for both young Nigerians’ Engineers and Engineering students on internship programmes in the company to be properly exposed to the practical aspects of the project.

Sachar said further that it was on the basis of that local young engineer were always sent abroad, especially in India to acquire knowledge on advanced Marine Engineering, Dredging and Underwater Wielding among others.

He said Dagote’s expectation was that these crop of young engineers would become high skilled to sustain the development and industrialisation of the country without foreign expertise in the nearest future.

It is also important to mention that the clusters of free zones around the Lagos Lagoon axis when fully developed will serve as catalyst for the industrialisation of the country.

This was the position of the NEPZA chief executive while on a working tour to Snake Island Integrated Free Trade Zone (SIIFTZ), LADOL and Eko Atlantic Zones, respectively.

The NEPZA boss said those business enclaves had the capacity to define the economic fortune of the country, adding that the ocean provided the zones the leverages to maximise their potentials.

For instance, the Eko Atlantic City remains a masterpiece and arguably the new wonder of the world with investors successfully carving out a “smart city” with multi-purpose functions from the ocean.

The city which operates as a zone is a beauty to behold and would in a short while obliterate the wrong narrative of Lagos being a chaotic city. The Eko Atlantic city free zone resonates the alluring image of a true beautiful and prosperous country.

According to the NEPZA boss, the country was relying on the zones on the ocean to introduce innovations that would help to attract huge investors’ traffic, adding that those clusters remained the “game changer” for the country’s industrialisation.

Adesugba’s evaluation of these zones remains apt particularly with respect to LADOL’s vision for expansion and diversification announced by the chief executive officer of the firm, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, while playing host to the managing director and his team.

 Jadesimi had expressed the willingness of the company’s board of trustees to diversify by investing heavily in agriculture and health care, adding that doing so would boost the country’s food security and also reduce medical tourism.

She said the country’s journey to industrialisation was holistic, adding that the process required that government continually provide the enabling environment for investors to maneuver their investments.

On his part, Mr. Haerm Aswani, the director-general, Tolaram Group, Lagos free zone said the country’s quest for industrialisation could be achieved quicker when the right attention was given to the free zone scheme.

He reiterated the need for the federal government to take deliberate steps in ensuring the success of the scheme as with other climes, adding that the country’s location and population gave it enormous advantage as Africa market leader.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, like most former governors of the state, had displayed favourable mien toward free zone operation when on August 20 while playing host to the NEPZA boss promised to further solidify cooperation with regulatory agency to create a huge platform for businesses to thrive in the state.

The Kano state government is equally working assiduously toward adopting the Lagos template with respect to providing outside infrastructure and other support logistics to make the Kano Free Trade Zone viable and boisterous.

The zone sits on both 250 hectares of land at Kanye and on 262.01 hectares at Fanisau areas of the state, respectively, thereby providing the needed ambiance business enterprises to operate.

In conclusion, it can be clearly seen that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s list of nine policy issues released on August 25 which included expanding business growth, entrepreneurship and industrialisation are intertwined with the policy direction of free trade zone.

 This, therefore, underscores the urgent need for government to give the Authority the right institutional support and timely releases of budgetary allocations to driving these economic policy issues of the president though the free trade zone.

Odeh is the head, corporate communications of NEPZA

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