By Dada Ahmed
(Abuja)
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba,has described the N1.5 billion investment brought into the Kano Free Trade Zone to maintain the zone as an investors’ attractive anchorage.
This is contained in a statement signed by Martins Odeh,Head, Corporate Communications in Abuja, a copy of which is made available to The Reporters on Wednesday.
Prof. Adesugba noted that Sunbelt Free Zone Enterprise brother the investment as an offshoot of sustained intervention by the Federal Government
He made the remark when he played host to the Executive Director and one of the promoters of the enterprise, Alhaji Murtala Jega on Thursday in Abuja.
The online publication recalls that Sunbelt, which specializes in the manufacturing of fabrics and textiles, was licensed on December 12, 2019 as a partnership firm owned by four Investors, comprising three Chinese and a Nigerian.
The NEPZA Chief Executive explained that the Authority and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had so far 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 actualizing the country’s industrialization. In doing this, we shall not disappoint the president and the nation,” Adesugba said.
On the N1.4 billion approval given by the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday for the upgrade of electricity facilities at the Calabar Free Trade Zone, Adesugba said the development was a genuine disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari’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 the zone’s electricity to 25 Megawatts scalable to 150 megawatts as the need expands, adding that the two public zones had the capacity to scale up local production significantly when fully supported.
