Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones have attracted over $66bn in Foreign Direct Investments and N620bn in Domestic Direct Investments.
Among the dividends of the investments is the creation of 35,000 direct and indirect employments, driving socio-economic development in the country.
Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Zones Association, Nabil Saleh, disclosed this at the association’s annual general meeting in Lagos, with the theme: “Unlocking Opportunities: Harnessing the Power of Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones Scheme”,
According to him, the manufacturing sector led with 45 per cent of the total investments, followed by the service sector at 30 per cent.
Saleh further stated that the oil and gas sector accounts for 11 per cent of investments while the trading, logistics, and agriculture sectors also made significant contributions.
He noted that the establishment of SEZs in Nigeria has led to the development of Africa’s biggest oil refinery, a deep-sea port with the capacity to handle around 6 million twenty-foot equivalent units of containers, a gas processing hub along the Atlantic Coast and an oil and gas downstream manufacturing hub, among others.
Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Olufemi Ogunyemi, said such interactive sessions will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss critical issues as it concerns standardising free zone operations; tax administration in the free zones; sharing experiences on free zone policies and operations, and developing actionable solutions.
Ogunyemi said it had become imperative for SEZs to be re-engineered, bearing in mind the unfolding of the fourth industrial revolution, the heightened focus on sustainable development, and the new wave of global value chains.
In a remark, Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, Bamanga Jada, said the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority had attracted $24 billion investment despite the challenges that had been confronting operators and licensees, adding that the free zones under the authority’s regulation had over 100 licensed companies.
