The Lagos State Government has stepped up international and local marketing of unoccupied portions of the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
Currently, Dangote Group is developing the South-East Quadrant of the Zone in Lekki, which is about 2635 hectares of land for the establishment of 650,000bpd capacity refinery complex, petrochemical, gas and fertilizer plant with a projected cost of over $12billion.
Details of the new strategic marketing drive for remaining portions of the zone were given by the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye, during an investment meeting with city and bilateral Chambers of Commerce in Lagos.
Ogunleye listed some of the government incentives to include complete tax holiday from all federal, state and local government taxes, rates, customs duties and levies; one stop approval for all permits, operating in licenses and incorporation papers; duty-free, tax-free import of raw materials and components for goods destined for re-export.
He said apart from the 100% foreign ownership of investment, Lagos State Government has given “Permission to sell 100% of manufactured, assembled or imported goods into the domestic Nigerian market; 100% foreign ownership of investments; 100%repatriation of capital, profits and dividends; waiver on all import and export and export licenses; waiver on all expatriate quotas for companies operating in the zones.”
Ogunleye maintained that he Lekki Free Zone is open to all nationals and countries in the world. “I therefore urge the leadership of all chambers here present to communicate the message to all your members, local and international, that the Lekki Free Zone is an ideal investment destination for all investors all over the world.”
In her response, the National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson, recalled that ‘with Nigeria’s growth dropping to an average of five to six per cent in recent years, and population in Lagos increasing, development projects that can boost growth are much needed in the state. As a result, the Lekki Free Zone is important for the sustenance of over 20 million people in Lagos and its environs.
NACCIMA chief, represented by the National Vice President, Jani Ibrahim, noted that “we are very optimistic of the capacity of the Lekki Free Zone in boosting our country’s economy through the opening of trade routes that will bring about an unprecedented surge in logistics and businesses.”
