Abuja, June 20, 2023 – Free trade zones in the country attracted $346.6 million in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) between 2020 and the first quarter of 2023.
There are 55 free trade zones in the country under the management of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).
Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, the Managing Director of NEPZA, said this at a conference of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) in Abuja.
He said the NEPZA also attracted N360.7 billion local direct investments to the Nigerian economy during the period.
He said that of the 55 free trade zones in the country, only 30 were functional, while others were being refurbished or constructed for operations.
THE NEPZA boss aid the Federal Government could do more by providing the enabling environment for free trade zones to boost the economy.
“So far, we have 541 enterprises operating in the free trade zones, but we need to be more aggressive in making Nigeria’s free trade zones more enterprising as the target is to have at least 10,000 free trade zones.
“Ogun and Delta are already leading the way. This is very important because these zones not only serve Nigeria, but also the African continent with over 70,000 jobs being created,” he said.
Adesugba said the NEPZA and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were working on a proposal to have a bank administering the operations and transactions at the free trade zones to drive robust free trade zones operation in Nigeria by liaising with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
He said the country attracted lower DFI under President Buhari than the previous administrations.
He attributed the decline in foreign investment to Nigeria’s challenging business environment, including high budget deficits, capital controls, corruption, insecurity and a fall in oil prices. (GBN)
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