The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Lagos Free Zone, Mr. Dinesh Rathi, has reported that the Lagos Free Zone is anticipated to contribute $12 billion annually to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product by 2032.
Vanguard reported that Rathi stated: we currently have 24 operating companies inside the zone, once we have 150 to 160 operating companies inside the zone, the number base can allow us easily get an output equivalent of $12 billion.
He said this at the media event in Lagos, noting that the statistic, which is a game-changer for the economy of the nation, accounts for roughly 3.0 percent of Nigeria’s GDP.
“That is our vision. We performed our task. This may be a game changer for the entire economy in the years to come with Lagos Free Zone and the Lekki Port as we would be doing between 2 and 3 percent of the national GDP with that amount.”
Business Development and Marketing Manager, Lagos Free Zone, Chinju Nwankwo-Udora, stated earlier in her presentation on the impact of the zone on Nigeria that the zone has been successful in bringing in about $2.5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment over time thanks to the efforts of Lekki Port, Tolaram Investment within the zone, and other partners.
Over the next ten years, the country’s economy is anticipated to attract more than $5 billion, she continued.
Nwankwo-Udora stated that $2.3 billion of the $2.5 billion that was promised to invest over the course of the project’s development had already been made.
She stated that over 15,000 employment have been established in the area and that within the next ten years, 32,000 jobs would be produced within the industrial and services sector.
