Activities at the Calabar Free Trade Zone received a boost recently when General Electric (GE) of United States of America made commitments to establish a new manufacturing and assembly facility in the zone.
The commitment was sealed with the signing of a US$1 billion investment deal with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Hounourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga on behalf of the Federal Government and the Global Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of GE, Jeff Immelt, signed on behalf of the Company.
The US$1 billion investment comprises of US$250 million capital expenditure and over US$800 million incremental spending on local sourcing of goods and services in the next five years and is expected to create 2,300 jobs and make Nigeria the regional hub for GE’s manufacturing services and innovation in Africa.
The company will manufacture amongst other things Locomotive Heads and Engines for railway operations, Turbines and “Christmas Trees” that will support Power Generation and Oil and Gas production and exploration activities respectively. The facility will also incorporate a state of the art training facility to ensure on-going employee development.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, the Honourable Minister said that the investment was based on the country’s positive macroeconomic indicators. He stated that the deal marks the beginning of many more investments from GE and pledged government’s commitment to providing a conducive investment climate for both GE and other foreign investors.
The Minister announced that the investment is in critical areas of the economy which is power and infrastructure. According to him, “this investment will support our Industrial Revolution Plan, which is based on the areas where we have competitive and comparative advantage”.
Responding, Mr. Immelt pointed that the investment was a demonstration of the company’s confidence in the Nigerian economy. “The time is now and the place is Nigeria. The government of Nigeria has made significant progress in its economy within the last few years. We see a lot of opportunity in Nigeria. We are committed to playing our part in the sustainable growth of Nigeria and the positive impact this will have on Nigeria and the continent of Africa as a whole” he said.
Already the company has set up a temporary office within the administrative building of CFTZ to supervise the construction and logistics of the project.
With this development, the CFTZ team has strengthened its resolve to position the zone among the top 50 global free zones by 2015. The coming of GE will certainly place the zone on the global map and convince other big players in business to focus attention on Nigeria’s free zones.
*** The zone has so far identified five key areas to focus on and benchmark itself against other zones around the world. These are listed as follows:
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
Total Size
Total land available for development
Expansion in land area in the past two years, and/or plans for expansion in the next two years
Total office space available
Total employment
Increase in employment in the past two years
Number of businesses operating in the Zone
Total volume of goods processed in the Zone
Increase in total volume of goods processed in the past two years
Percentage of investor companies that expand their presence in the Zone
Any restrictions for setting up in the Zone
2. INCENTIVES/SERVICES
Types of incentives offered
Description of the incentives offered including any requirement of eligibility
Administrative services offered to assist investors
Description of services offered by companies in the Zone
Telecommunication and technology infrastructure
Disaster recovery services offered on site
Internet speed offered
Available labour pool and the % of which speak more than one language
Office space availability
Major planned projects
3. FACILITIES/ TRANSPORTATION
Key economic and industrial sectors supported by the Zone
Range of warehouse facilities, industrial units, logistics and office space available
Amenities offered to help investors
Presence within Zone of airport, port, major motorways, railways or other
Presence near Zone of airport, port, major motorways, railways or other
Description of any major plan infrastructure projects
4. COSTS AND FEES CHARGED
Annual average rental of industrial facilities, warehouse space, office space, undeveloped space, condominium and others (per m2)
Average cost per unit of water cost (per m3), electricity cost (per kw/hr) and gas costs (per m2)
Annual average cost of labour for unskilled worker, semi skilled worker and highly skilled worker
5.PROMOTION STRATEGY
Website
Digital/web promotion activities undertaken to create interest in the Zone
Other marketing, communications or promotional activities undertaken
Method used to identify potential investors, and strategy for approaching and engaging them
The Zone’s marketing slogan/brief summary of its appeal
Statement from NEPZA’s Chief Executive on his vision for achieving the Zone’s full FDI potential.
The zone will leverage on the presence of GE to attract investors who will provide support services and component manufacturing for GE.
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