Japanese firms endorse Lagos Free Zone
On February 14, 2020, a group of Japanese companies was hosted to a tour of Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) – ‘The Gateway to a New Frontier’. The LFZ is in ‘The New Lagos,’ a name earned by Ibjeu-lekki region, one of the fastest growing local government areas of Lagos State.
This region is home to several brands such as Kellogg’s, Colgate, Dano Milk, Indomie and BASF, all of whom have manufacturing facilities in the zone. LFZ also houses Lekki Deep Sea Port, which is poised to contribute about 3 percent to the national GDP by 2025. This makes the Zone well connected to regional and international routes, while offering investors access to an enormous consumer market across Nigeria. The deep seaport will be operational by the second quarter of 2022.
Once fully developed, the LFZ will house over 150 industries in different sectors - from FMCG to engineering and pharmaceuticals, bringing in billions of dollars in foreign direct investment to Nigeria. The Zone will also serve as a logistics hub for West Africa and have a real estate cluster, creating a complete live-work-play environment.
The LFZ is promoted by Singapore-based, Tolaram Group.
With the presence of a one-stopshop clearance, LFZ is changing the narrative around the ease of doing business in Nigeria. The facilities on ground include an operational truck pack, emergency response medical facility, and a central processing centre that hosts agencies like the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
In line with its commitment to the Ease of Doing Business, LFZ provides and maintains internal infrastructure in the industrial complex including streetlights, warehouses, access roads, drainage, among others, for all investors.
Shigeyo Nishizawa, trade commissioner/managing director of JETRO Lagos (Japan External Trade Organization), said, “Since the last time I held a meeting with Japanese companies’ MDS in December, I found that the MDS were interested in the Lagos Free Zone, hence I decided to hold a site visit. Over 40 officials visited the site.
“The participants were not only food manufacturers, but also home appliances, vehicle manufacturers, medical equipment manufacturers, overseas traders and government agencies. We were pleased to have been received by Mr. Haresh Aswani, MD of Tolaram Group, and Mr. Dinesh Rathi, CEO of LFZ.
Worried by the escalating incidents of piracy and other maritime offences on the entire maritime domain of the Gulf of Guinea region, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) have set in motion capacity for effective implementation of the new Anti-piracy Act through interpretation and understanding.
This was prompted by the concern resulting from the fact that West African countries and their trading partners lost about $2.3 billion to various maritime crimes that took place between 2016 and 2018.
Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday during the 9th Admiralty Law Seminar for Judges with the theme, ‘Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act 2019: Key to Accelerating and Achieving Safe and Secure Shipping,’ Dakuku Peterside, director-general of NIMASA, said the threat of piracy, armed robbery at sea and other maritime crimes had been an issue of global concern.
According to Peterside, the Gulf of Guinea sadly, had been at the epicentre of maritime security discussions globally, given the incidents recorded in the region.
Peterside stated that the challenge of maritime insecurity in the region had been further compounded by a deficit of legislation to address the challenge.
“With the signing into law by Mr. President on June 24, 20l9, the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, facilitated by NIMASA, there is now a robust and detailed framework in place for the criminalisation and punishment of piracy and other maritime crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.
He said the discussion at the seminar for judges would facilitate an understanding of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act and the collaborative mechanisms between the Judiciary and enforcement agencies in the implementation of the Act.
He however noted that it would also equip participants with the essential knowledge on the requirement of Nigeria’s obligations under the Act; and to foster interaction between the judiciary and enforcement officers to share ideas on the likely challenges if any in the enforcement of the Act.
Muhammed Ladan, directorgeneral of NIALS, said the theme of the seminar was necessitated by the coming into force of the first standalone Anti-piracy and Other Maritime Crimes Law in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to Ladan, the Law is aimed at stemming the tides of incidents of sea piracy and armed robbery as well as other challenges of maritime safety and security that hamper sustainable economic growth and development of all the littoral states in the Gulf of Guinea region.
Citing example, he said West Africa and its trading partners lost about $2.3 billion to maritime crimes between 2016 and 2018, and that on annual basis, the region lost about $777 million between2015and2018inaddition tothreattolivesexperienceddueto theescalationofpiracy,kidnapping andarmedrobberyatseaincidents between 2018 and 2019.
“In 2018, maritime crime report released as at May 2019, shows that Nigeria, with a coastline of about 853km, was tagged as a piracy hotspot, by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) becauseinthefirstquarterof2018, Nigeriaaloneaccountedfor22out of 66 piracy and armed robbery incidents at sea while eight out of 11vesselsfireduponglobally,took place in the region,” he said.
He further disclosed that in 2019, IMB quarter three report, revealed that Lagos seaport recorded 11 out of such incidents, making it the highest globally.
“The Gulf of Guinea is home to Nigeria, the largest economy and the most populous nation in Africa, whose economy generates more than 70 percent of the seaborne trade in West Africa and Gulf of Guinea because about 90 percent of global trade is carried out by ship in form of import/ export of goods,” he said.