Delta State government, southern Nigeria, says it has put all measures in place to attract foreign direct Investment to the state.
The Governor of the state, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa disclosed this during the official presentation ceremony of the Delta Special Economic Zone by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
He stated that the state will ensure it is able to provide a competitive, peaceful and welcoming environment for investments and develop the human capital needed for the industries.
“We are in a hurry to get the special economic zones work for Delta State and for Nigeria also realising that we have a great advantage in our state because we produce a lot of gas, we also produce a lot of oil, we’re also very much involved in agriculture, and putting all these things together, I believe that we’re set for this nation and for the world.”
“For those of you who know delta, you know that we are several towns and cities developing all at a very fast pace and we also have beyond this, a lot of road networks,” he said.
The Governor thanked the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, for guiding the state through the process which has culminated in the issuance of the licence to Delta State government.
“I believe that we are ready to ensure that this special economic zone works for all but we’ll call on NEPZA and its management staff to continue to offer the best of advice and support that we’ll need as the lead consultant so that we’re able to make things work much faster, not only for Delta State but for our nation Nigeria,” he added.
The Managing Director NEPZA, Mr Adesoji Adesugba said Delta State is well positioned and the authority will work with the state to improve its Special Economic Zone.
“Everybody’s talking about Lagos. They are about 22 billion dollars investments in free zones in Lagos. And we believe that we can replicate what is happening in Lagos in other states.”
“In China, over 1500 of such schemes exist, in Egypt, we have about 50, Nigeria is about second in Africa, we have about 44, we have free zone schemes coming up behind us in places like South Africa and recently also some West African countries,Togo, Gabon, Ghana, and Benin Republic, and all these interestingly is geared towards marketplace in Nigeria, with the coming of AfCFTA, we need to be very competitive,” he explained.
