China is to invest US$267 million to establish the first-phase
of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Lagos, the commercial capital
of Nigeria, a senior Chinese official said in Lagos on Monday.
In a press conference held at the Lagos state government
secretariat, Chen Xiaoxing, head of a visiting Chinese delegation,
said the Chinese government has approved the establishment of the
Lekki FTZ, the first of its kind China has ever built abroad.
Chen said the amount would be spent on power plants, road
networks and building of workshops for manufacturing of goods,
adding that the first phase would be completed within two
years.
Under the Sino-Nigerian joint venture between three Chinese
companies and the Lagos state government, "China will contribute
its experience to develop Nigeria's economy," Chen said, adding
that "China has signed a US$2.5 million soft loan agreement with
Nigeria to help her develop her infrastructure."
Chen also assured Nigerians of standard products from the zone,
saying: "the goods that will be produced at the FTZ will be of
international standard because the zone will be an international
location for manufacturers who would be regulated by the
International Standard Organization's (ISO) rules and
regulations."
He said that about 3,000 jobs would be created under the first
phase, while it would also facilitate the exportation of locally
produced goods from Nigeria to international markets in Europe and
America. Chen said the FTZ project would help Chinese people doing
businesses in Nigeria to plough back into the Nigerian economy part
of profits they made in the country, stressing that investors from
Nigeria, China as well as other countries in the world would
benefit tremendously from the FTZ.
According to him, the inauguration of the first phase will take
place on Thursday, explaining that the 20 Chinese businessmen who
had indicated interest in the project were already in Nigeria.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2006)
