Textiles, Agriculture Get Additional Economic Zones
Additional economic zones have been announced by the federal government for textiles and agriculture as part of the take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
The expansion of the existing Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and activation of existing ones was in line with the AfCFTA implementation, the Managing Director of the
Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, said on Wednesday.
The new economic zones were named as Funtua FTZ Katsina for textile and cotton, Lagos FTZ for medical and Kwara for agriculture.
Adesugba who disclosed this on the occasion of the courtesy visit to his office by the leaders of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) led by Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu , said this was to boost federal government’s industrial agenda.
The NEPZA MD in a statement by the Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA, Mr. Martins Odeh, said government’s plan is to create additional Special Economic Zones (SEZs) model that will ensure enabling environment for businesses in technology, agriculture, medical and mining.
He saidm “Accordingly, the goal of the AfCFTA resonates strongly with the aims and objectives of SEZ in promoting trade and services which is why NEPZA is currently repositioning its SEZ strategy to support the agreement.
“The authority is implementing this by focusing its investment facilitation and capacity expansion on goods and services that the country has high comparative advantages.”