Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday explained why the government and the private sector are making huge investments in the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).
They are targeted at making the state the destination of choice for businesses in Africa, the governor said yesterday in a statement by his spokesman Habib Haruna.
According to the statement, Ambode spoke when he inspected ongoing projects in the area in the company of foremost industrialists Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Mr. Femi Otedola.
Ambode said the investments and the infrastructural renewal in the Lekki-Epe axis simultaneously ongoing were geared to prepare the state for industrial revolution taking place in Nigeria and by extension in the West African sub-region.
The governor was quoted as saying: “We have just inspected the ongoing jetty project being done by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
“You are all well aware that we flagged off the construction of Lekki Deep Sea Port some few weeks ago. But, more importantly, this jetty is being done by the Dangote Group to more or less facilitate the movement of their heavy duty machinery to the petrochemical plant and other projects they are doing in this Lekki Free Trade Zone.”
Reiterating the commitment of the state to encourage and support in doing what is right for the economy, Ambode said that no efforts would be spared in creating an investment-friendly environment in the Centre of Excellent.
He said: “What we are doing more importantly, as a government, is to continue to encourage the Dangote Group to do what is right for this country and for us to join hands together and collaborate to really show that Lagos is the next destination for the industrial revolution that is taking place in Nigeria.
“We are very happy to be doing this with him because we know that with the kind of infrastructure that we are providing around Lagos and the kind of infrastructure he is also providing, this place should be the next destination for anybody that is interested in investing in Nigeria.”
Dangote said that the combined projects under construction at the Lekki Free Trade Zone were the largest anywhere in the world.
The President of the Dangote Group said it was important for the right message about the axis to be communicated to the people to appreciate its impact on the economy.
He said: “What is happening here is the largest project anywhere in the world today and this visit is just to show the governor the industrial jetty that we have built including the water breaker which is 900 meters which is almost like about a mile.
“This is to show what we have done in terms of bringing in our cargo to build the refinery. We have done quite a lot in terms of water protection and also it is environmentally friendly and this is what we have shown the governor.
“This is just showing that this place is going to really open for business and we are looking for a lot of infrastructure to be built and this place will be the next destination for any investment in Nigeria.”
Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives Commissioner Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye said the jetty, when operational next month, would facilitate the shipment of equipment to rev up the projects within the LFTZ.