In the Zone
The lekki free Trade Zone promotes economic development of nigeria
forty-six-year-old Zhang Yongjun is very satisfied about the decision he made eight months ago. In April, he decided to move his Sunshine Houseware Co. from China to Nigeria to further expand his market to more African countries.
Before moving to Nigeria, Zhang’s company produced plastic brooms and other plastic articles for home use in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province, for more than 10 years, and his products were mainly exported to the Nigerian market. In April this year, he visited the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lekki Peninsula in Lagos, the most populous city on the African continent. After some research on the ground he decided to move his company here.
“As my products are targeting Nigeria, producing locally can greatly reduce my production costs up to 20 percent because of the low labor costs and no international transportation fees,” Zhang told Chinafrica, adding that the materials are also sourced locally.
After moving to Nigeria, Zhang expanded his production by increasing his injection molding machines from two to six, increasing his annual output value to over 10 million yuan ($1.45 million).
“What’s more, producing in the free trade zone can help me explore surrounding markets in Africa,” said Zhang. “I can also enjoy a lot of preferential policies here.”
Zhang’s company is only one of the Chinese enterprises operating in the Lekki Free Trade Zone. To date, 63 companies have signed investment agreements with the zone, of which, 25 are operational or under construction, mainly engaging in logistics, industrial manufacturing and auto assembly.
All-round planning
Starting construction in 2007, the Lekki Free Trade Zone is an important part of the eight measures to strengthen China-africa cooperation announced by the Chinese Government at the First Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2006, which was also listed in the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2007-09).
After more than 10 years’ construction, the zone is now in a fast-developing stage in terms of both construction and operation, according to Lai Siqing, Deputy General