By Maduka Nweke
As policymakers and investors explore all options available to revive the post-COVID-19 economy, a group of experts recommend an increased focus on the industrialisation and vibrant trade flows found in Nigeria’s free trade zones.
Senior government officials and business leaders, speaking at an event organised by Alaro City, the mixed-use city being built in the Lekki Free Zone, discussed the role of free zones in driving economic growth through business friendly incentives.
Launched in January 2019, Alaro City is planned as a 2,000-hectare mixed-income, city-scale development with industrial and logistics locations, complemented by offices, homes, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, entertainment and 150 hectares (370 acres) of parks and open spaces. Alaro City is a partnership between Rendeavour, Africa’s largest new city builder and Lagos State, the economic and financial nerve centre of Nigeria.
More than 30 companies are operational, designing or building their facilities in the city, and 3.5km of initial road networks and a modular 50MVA power plant are under construction. One of the companies in Alaro City, Ariel Foods FZE, is the largest and most technically advanced ready-to-eat therapeutic foods producer in Africa, with an annual production facility of 18,000 metric tonnes.
Speakers at the event – “Free Zones as Engines of Growth: A Spotlight on Alaro City” – included Managing Director of Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba; the Deputy Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Dr. Patience K. Iferi; Managing Director of Rosettee Construction, Mr Maroun Awad; Managing Director of Omar Gardens, Mrs. Mimi Ade-Odiachi; and the CEO of ASB Valiant, Mr. Ayo Ikumapayi, among others.