The Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) is located on the Lekki Peninsula bordered on the South by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a new city under development situated within one of the fastest developing urban areas in Nigeria with an annual economic growth rate of 16.8%. In order to ensure easy access of goods from the zone to the regional and international markets, the State Government is planning to establish an airport around the zone and is working closely with the Federal Government to establish a deep sea port.
The project aims to track the industrialization strategy of the State with a new export free zone providing ample fiscal incentives among other unique benefits. It is on about 16,500 hectares (Ha) of land with four quadrants, of which the SW quadrant is on 3,000 Ha being developed in collaboration with our Chinese partners and has since opened for business.
The zone encompasses hubs for Oil & Gas and Logistics, Light and Medium scale Industries, Hospitality and Resort, Engineering and Infrastructure Support Services, Commerce, Retail and Real Estate, as well as Information and Communication Technology.
Further more,the recent entry Dangote Group into the Lekki Free Trade Zone to set up a petroleum refinery complex and fertilizer plant will boost investment and engender industrial development of the zone, Lagos State government has said.
The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, who disclosed this yesterday at a press briefing in Lagos, said Lekki Free Trade Zone project is now a reality as its expected benefits have started trickling in, particularly with the mobilization to site of key players in the oil and gas sector.
Giving details of latest development taking place at the about 16,500 hectares of land on the tip of the Lekki Peninsula to the south-east of Lagos State, the commissioner noted that the project remained the flagship of the state government’s industrial development initiatives conceptualized to provide an enabling environment for industries to thrive, attract both local and foreign direct investments into the state and create jobs for the teeming population.
The commissioner said: “Owing to the vastness of the land area and the attendant huge cost of infrastructure provision therein, the zone was divided into four quadrants for ease of development. Presently the state government is in a development partnership with a Chinese Consortium for the development of 3,000 hectares in the southwest quadrant zone, the start-up area.
“The joint venture arrangement has so far resulted in the development of 72km paved roads, 150 solar -powered streetlights, three standard factories, three units of VIP chalets and a telecommunications base among st other infrastructural facilities.”
She stressed that as part of the infrastructural development plan of the zone, an Independent Power Project (IPP), gas fired power project capable of generating 24 hours of power in the south-west quadrant part of the area has been initiated, adding that it would be completed before the end of the year.
The planned petroleum refinery complex will be producing 400,000 barrels per day and the fertilizer plant is envisaged to create 20,000 jobs during the construction period and about 8,000 engineers will be required in the course of operation of the plants.
