The Nigerian government is projecting investment worth US$15 billion in the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) across the country in the next five years, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Mr. Gbenga Kuye.
“Today, we have attracted about US$9.4 billion investment into all the free zones. This is without the US$1 billion investment that we got through General Electric in Calabar Free Trade Zone recently,” the local media Friday quoted the NEPZA boss as saying in the capital city of Abuja.
”However, for the next five years, we have a projection of attracting investment of about US$15 billion into all our free zones,”he said.
Nigeria currently has 25 free trade zones, out of which nine are fully operational, six are under construction while four are at the design stage. Six others are yet to take off.
Mr. Kuye said NEPZA was vigorously reviewing the processes of granting approval and licences to free zones across the country, stressing that mechanisms were being put in place to revamp or close down the free zones that were not economically viable.
