The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), Mr. Dinesh Rathi, has said that the LFZ is expected to contribute $12 billion to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually by 2032.
Rathi, who spoke at a media briefing in Lagos, said that the figure which is a game changer for the country’s economy, represents about 3.0 percent of Nigeria’s GDP.
He stated: “If you look at the master plan of the zone, you will see that, once the zone is fully functional because we have 24 companies operating in the zone presently, once we have 150 to 160 companies operating inside the zone, with this number base, we can easily get an output equivalent of $12 billion.
“We did our work and that is our vision. With that number, we would be doing between 2 and 3 percent of the national GDP; so this can be a game changer for the whole economy in the years to come with LFZ along with the Lekki Port.
“This has happened in China and Dubai where free zones along with the port have had high class synergies which are needed by businesses and economies.” Earlier in her presentation on the impact of the zone on Nigeria, Business Development and Marketing Manager, LFZ, Chinju Nwankwo-Udora, said that the zone has been able to attract about $2.5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) over time with efforts from Lekki Port, Tolaram investment within the zone and other partners.
She added that more than $5 billion is expected to be attracted into the country’s economy over the next 10 years.
Nwankwo-Udora explained that out of the $2.5 billion committed to investment in more than 10 years of its project development, $2.3 billion is already invested.
She added that over 15, 000 jobs have been created in the zone even as about 32, 000 jobs would be generated in the next 10 years within the industrial and services sector.
SOURCE: VANGUARD
