The Lagos State Government on Thursday said it had released the sum of N1.6 billion as part of its equity contribution to the Lekki Free Zone Development Company (LFDC).
The Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr Rotimi Ogunleye, made the remark at the 2016 Ministerial Media briefing in Lagos.
He said that this was to boost the ongoing infrastructural development in the zone, as well as encourage investors’ participation in the project.
Ogunleye said he was engaging the host communities to ensure a sustainable cordial relationship with investors in the zone.
“I want to assure all prospective investors in the zone that the government has overhauled the security network in the area in order to guarantee a safe haven for investment,” he said.
The commissioner said that a World Bank report listed the Lekki Free Zone as the fastest growing trade zone.
Ogunleye said the products from the zone were compliant with international standards, as they went through the standardisation laboratories.
He said that the LFZ project, which had remained the flagship of the state government industrial development initiative, was conceptualised to provide enabling environment for industries to operate.
The commissioner said that the project was also to attract both local and foreign direct investments into the state.
Ogunleye said the ministry remained unrelenting in its efforts to attain and sustain high level of viable, vibrant commercial and industrial activities in line with its mission to promote economic growth and development.
He said that the zone had been divided into two parcels and four quadrants namely: South-West and South-East quadrant in Parcel A, and the North-West and the North-East quadrant in Parcel B, for ease of development.
“To fast track development in the zone, clearing of a parcel of land measuring about 520,000 square metres is being carried out by the contractors from local communities and has reached 90 per cent completion,” he said.
Ogunleye said the Lekki Free Zone project represented the catalyst to shoot the state into real global economic reckoning.
According to him, it is already attracting considerable number of investors within and outside the country such as Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex.
The Commissioner said that the Dangote Group was developing a world class refinery with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of oil per day.
He added that the $11 billion project would satisfy local and international market demands.
Ogunleye also disclosed that the State Government was in partnership with the Chinese Consortium, China Africa Lekki Investment Limited (CALIL), for the development of 3000 hectares of land in the South-West quadrant of the zone.
“The project has also attracted some investors who have already commenced business operations in the zone,” he said.
Ogunleye said that in order to complement the development of activities at the Lekki Free Zone, the government was planning to develop the Lekki Deep Seaport with a depth of about 14m to berth heavy vessels.
He said that the seaport development would be done in collaboration with the Nigeria Ports Authority.
Ogunleye said that this would be on equity participation of 20 per cent, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprises, 61.8 per cent and the State Government 18.15 per cent.
He said that this was in addition to other proposed projects including the Lekki International Airport and the Enterprise Zone to provide decent workplaces for micro operators, especially artisans.