The Federal Government (FG) has said the country’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs) have generated over $46.6 billion in investment into the nation’s economy. This was revealed by the Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Adesoji Adesugba, during a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the scheme, adding that this is the current amount since the FTZs inception in 1992.
He said, “To date, the zones have attracted over $30 billion investments which is expected to exponentially increase in the next few years with our sustained incentives and aggressive investment drive across the world. The future is bright for the Free Trade Zone scheme in Nigeria.
“And again, we express our profound appreciation to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for the approval given for the establishment of six Special Economic Zones and the earmarking of four international airports as Free Trade Zones in 2021.
“NEPZA has also established Special Economic Zones Security outfit to professionally secure lives and investments in the zones. More so, the Special Economic Zones Training Institute, Kano will help bridge the knowledge gap in the free zones scheme”.
He also said that NEPZA has set up an automated platform in order to digitize the scheme’s operations for improved accountability and efficiency.
According to him, Special Economic Zones Dispute Resolution Centres have been established by NEPZA with the view of mediating disputes among operators in the FTZs.
The FTZs have created about 150,000 direct employment and an estimated 400,000 indirect employment.
