The Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has disclosed that the Textile Free Zone located in Funtua, Katsina State when completed would create over 10,000 direct jobs for the citizens of the country.
Speaking, on Tuesday, in Abuja while receiving the C of O of the over 277 hectares of land from the state government, the Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof Adesoji Adesugba, stated that work has commenced at the site of the trade zone already.
“If you will recall, a few weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved for projects worth about N2 billion for pickup points.
“The initial plan is for us to start up, we already have the project Team going into the construction of the perimeter fencing for security.
“You have to secure the free zone as a whole, construct the internal roads, power plant to power the place and the Administrative block” he stated.
Adesugba explained that “we already have a plan for the place, so currently the government has already expended more than N500 million in that particular zone.
“We believed that within the next 18 months the Zone will be ready for investors. From the business model we have, we believe that direct jobs of about 10,000 will be created when the zone is fully operational.
“While more than 60,000 indirect jobs will be created in the locality and its environs” the MD stated.
He further said that the Agency believed Funtua was the right place for the location of the Textile trade zone considering the history of the sector’s existence in the location for more than 100 years.
Presenting the C of O of the trade zone land to the MD on behalf of the Katsina state government, the Director-General of Katsina State Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur Jikamshi, expressed the state readiness to support development at the trade zone.
He said the state government had initiated the Katsina Green Economic Zone when “suddenly we got an opportunity which we cashed in on, that NEPZA wanted to introduce Medical hubs in the country.
“Since we have started developing an economic zone in the state, we now say we can easily key into it and we did. We are going to bring our plan for UNIDO to support us in collaboration with NEPZA to look at how they can integrate our Medical hub,” he stated.
It is expected that when the Medical Economic Zone becomes operational, it will reduce medical tourism in Nigeria.
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Katsina garment free trade zone to create 10,000 direct jobs ― NEPZA