LADOL Partners Ford Motors to Assemble Cars in Nigeria

The bid by the federal government to ensure that the automobile industry in the country gains traction is getting the needed boost as the management of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) plans to get global automobile maker, Ford Motor to assemble motor cars at its fabrication facility in Lagos.

LADOL is currently playing host to the fabrication of a $3.8 billion oil and gas logistics service facility commonly known as the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) rig, for the Egina project.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is currently building a facility for the integration of Egina Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel on its arrival from Korea.

The project, which has been described as first-of-its-kind in the sub-Sahara Africa, is being built for Total Oil Exploration and Production Company with LADOL acting as the local content partner.

Executive Director of LADOL, Jide Jadesimi disclosed the new arrangement with Ford Motors in a chat with journalists on the arrival of the Egina FPSO in Lagos.

He said LADOL is in talks with the American consulate about working with Ford Motors to assemble motor cars in Nigeria, as well as fabricating railway tracks.

“And we are working with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on that and other projects. The future for LADOL is bright, we are working on multiple projects, there are other FPSOs on the immediate horizon and we are working on multiple projects. We have FPSO for Bonga South West and Zabazaba as well. But the beauty of this facility is the flexibility. We are looking at non oil and gas industrial heavy industry projects. We have the capability to actually service the maritime sector as well as all the different heavy industries, manufacturing and things of that nature,” he said.

Speaking on the arrival of the FPSO, he said: “This is a great and historic moment for Nigeria and for Africa. It is going to turn a new chapter in way that investment in flowing into Nigeria and in a way that the scale of this project can be undertaken. It is going to save billions of dollars for the Nigerian economy and inflow of billions of dollars as well.”

On what industries who want to come to the free zone will enjoy in terms of charges, he said LADOL’s charges are based on a variety of factors.

“It depends on the nature of the project. But we are as a free zone do not have access to foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). So, it mandates that we charge in dollars. However, it is not the denomination of the charges that is important, what is important is the cost savings that we have delivered to the industry, which is over 60 per cent in terms of the logistics support services in exploration and production projects,” he said.