Enugu, Indonesia Government announce industrialization and investment partnership

The Enugu State Government revealed that it is collaborating with the Indonesian Government to boost capital development for industrialization in the state.

This was disclosed on Friday by Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), at the Nigeria Indonesia Trade and Investment (NIITF) in Lagos.

He said the partnership would see the diversification of Indonesian industries in the state.

Business Potential

The event themed “Rediscovering Business Potential in Nigeria”, Onyia said the deal will enable trade activities between both governments, as well as help them to explore the myriad of investment opportunities in the state across key sectors such as energy, power and transport.

He added that Enugu will prioritize its abundant mineral resources, and fertile lands with rich plantations supporting the production of the best cashews, sorghum, rice, cassava, and other agricultural species placing the state as a vantage investment destination.

• “Enugu is blessed with untapped natural gas reserves and our vast natural gas reserves have imposed a responsibility on the state to drive the Nigerian green economy transition.
• “I am happy to announce that Enugu is one of the first states to attract investment in CNG-powered buses and the state has the potential to be a leader in the clean industries of tomorrow.
• “Enugu State is a vital trade and investment gateway into the southeast region as it boasts of a multi-modal transport infrastructure to support trade activities between the South-Eastern region, Northern Nigeria, as well as the rest of Africa,” he said.

Economic transformation

The State Government official also noted that Enugu’s economic transformation plan includes a three-pronged strategy of boosting sector productivity, reforming key state institutions, and creating cross-cutting social sector programmes and services.

He said the present administration is committed to ensuring peace and security to grow the state’s economy exponentially from a 4.4 billion dollar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a 30 billion dollar GDP economy in the next 8 years.

• “Our mission is to make Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living in Nigeria.
• “Enugu State will become Nigeria’s most remarkable success story driven by industrialization and structural economic transformation, responsible public financial management, robust growth in trade and investment, and sustainable and inclusive infrastructural development,” he said.

The SSG promised the state would be beneficial to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), further foster business competitiveness and expand the ecosystem across the state.

Indonesia deal

Enugu State Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Mrs Adaora Chukwu, said that the state’s partnership with the Indonesian government was based on the state governor’s initiative to move the state from a 4.4 billion dollar to a 30 billion dollar economy.

She noted that part of the ways to achieve the mandate was through strategic partnerships and collaboration with various international and local investors to harness the various investment opportunities in the state, adding:

• “The government has adopted a model which is the Integrated Sector Growth Strategy (ISGS) which implies that no sector is prioritized above another, with synergy and connections of every sector to the other.
• “Efforts have been made to strengthen the regulatory and legal framework to ensure the elimination of bottlenecks to allow investors to come in.
• “Nigeria hopefully will gain and attract investment, industries and capital in the partnership and for the Indonesian Government, it will be a mutual prosperity effort, with Enugu State giving expertise in some areas,” she said.

Mr Ishmael Balogun, President, of Nigeria Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) revealed that investments between both countries have shored up to 4.6 billion dollars in 2022 from 2.6 billion in 2021, adding:

• “We have a very robust lineup of participants both from the public and private sectors from Nigeria and Indonesia.
• “Areas of focus include but are not limited to manufacturing, renewable energy, power generation, infrastructure development, health, agriculture, transportation, mining, digital economy and much more.

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