Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, has said that if Nigeria’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs) are well harnessed, they could bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and manufacturing inflows like China.
Speaking at the sidelines recently after a meeting with the Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on the concession of the Kano Free Trade Zone (KFTZ) to be executed by the BPE, the Director General disclosed that in 2006 alone, Free Trade Zones, also known as Special Economic Zones (SEZs) accounted for 68 percent of China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) about $1.5trillion.
According to him, 87 percent of China’s exports are from FTZs while the national level zones attract $ 9.2B in FDI and provide access to more advanced technology, thereby boosting technological progress.