The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh has clarified why Federal Government decided to concession the Calabar and Kano Free Trade Zones (FTZs), saying that the initiative will catalyse businesses in the West African sub-region through strategic production of goods and services in order to optimize the vast potential of the industrial axis of Cross River and Kano States.
Okoh, who gave this hint at a Roadshow organised by the Bureau in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMIT&I) and Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) on Tuesday in Lagos, said another government’s expectation from the concession was that the FTZs must move beyond the disjointed clusters of business premises to world-class special economic zones comparable to their counterparts globally.
According to him, the roadshow was organized to showcase government’s plan to unlock the potentials of two of its assets through the injection of private sector capital, as well as the deployment of technical expertise.
The BPE boss commended the government for its willingness to improve its service delivery level and infrastructure stock by partnering with the private sector in a mutually beneficial relationship that would incentivise private sector investors and deliver economic benefits to the Nigerian people.
He also recalled that the Bureau had in the last 18 months organised series of webinars and investors’ fora for officials of the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs); the global investment community; financial institutions and other key stakeholders of the government’s policy directive on the administration of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Nigeria.
Okoh explained that the policy vested the BPE with the mandate to superintend all PPP infrastructure project procurements in Nigeria, in collaboration with the MDAs, who are the owners of the assets and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the regulator of concessions in Nigeria.
He pointed out that it was in furtherance of this mandate that the Bureau, desired to showcase the two government free trade zones that require private sector investment as well as innovative capacity to unlock their full potential, that have hitherto been sub-optimally utilised, organised the Roadshow.
Noting that the event provides an opportunity to not only showcase the two zones but also to interact with potential investors, receive some feed backs and provide some clarifications as regards the transaction, Okoh added that the Requests for Qualifications (RfQs) were ongoing and would end on May 25, 2022.
The Director General promised all stakeholders that activities leading to the successful conclusion of the two transactions would be carried out in line with best global practices, as well as the stipulated ICRC Guidelines.
Speaking at the forum, Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, who was represented by Director, Zones, Muazu Hadi Ruma, highlighted the significance of investing in the two FTZs and maintained that free duty, tax exemptions and import substitution drive, among others are some of the incentives and benefits of investing in the zones. He assured prospective concessioners of a safe environment.
Similarly, the transaction advisers of the FTZs, Messrs. Ernst and Young, represented by Damilola Aloba, said the two-tier concession structure which involves a property holding company and the concessionaire would be adopted for the purpose of the transaction.
On key considerations and expected outcomes from the concession, he listed funding, rehabilitation, operations, technical know-how, managerial and administrative prowess and maintenance of the FTZs.
Aloba said that the considerations also had to do with remittances to the Federal Government over the concession period and the development of host communities.
