By John Ndibe
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has lauded the N1.5 billion investment brought into the Kano Free Trade Zone (FTZ) by Sunbelt Free Zone Enterprise (FZE).
Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, NEPZA’s Managing Director made the remark in Abuja when he played host to the Executive Director and one of the promoters of the enterprise, Alhaji Murtala Jega.
Adesugba, in a statement by Martins Odeh, Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA, described the investment as an offshoot of sustained intervention by the Federal Government to maintain the zone as an investors’ attractive anchorage.
Sunbelt, which specialises in the manufacturing of fabrics and textiles, was licensed on Dec.12, 2019 as a partnership firm jointly owned by four investors, including three Chinese and a Nigerian.
He explained that NEPZA and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had collaborated seamlessly in executing President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on using the scheme to generate employment for the country’s teeming youth population.
According to him, when operational, Sunbelt has the capacity of engaging 3000 direct and indirect labour.
“We are happy with this feat. This is the kind of investment the Federal Government is expecting us to sustain.
“It is the Authority’s desire at this stage to position Nigeria for competitiveness in order to benefit maximally from the new Africa free trade regime made possible by the African Continental Free Trade Zone Agreement (ACFTA).
“It is our fervent prayer to diligently work within the purview of the mandate of actualising the country’s industrialisation. In doing this, we shall not disappoint the President and the nation,” Adesugba said.
He lauded the N1.4 billion approval given by the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday for the upgrade of electricity facilities at Calabar FTZ.
Adesugba said the development was a genuine disposition of Federal Government’s commitment to use the zone scheme as one of the key drivers of the nation’s economy.
He also acknowledged that similar overture had been extended to the Kano zone for upgrade of its electricity to 25 megawatts, scalable to 150 megawatts.
The managing director said that the two public zones had the capacity to scale up local production significantly when fully supported.
