by crossriverwatch admin
Cross River State has become the preferred investment destination in Nigeria with Private investment portfolio currently in excess of 2 billion Dollars which has generated employment for hundreds of people in the State.
Mr. Gerald Ada, the Special Adviser to Senator Liyel Imoke on Investment Promotion who made the revelation in Calabar on Friday while interacting with newsmen on the activities of his Bureau in the past one year said the favorable investment climate in the state coupled with its innovative creation of a one -stop -investment center have served as points of attraction to investors.
Mr. Ada said the state is gradually inching up the ladder to become one of the busiest economies in West Africa and “Our ultimate aim is to make the economy among the five biggest in Nigeria after Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano”.
Mr. Ada listed the businesses which have started activity in the state to include General Electric, GE, which has made a commitment of investing the sum of 250 million Dollars in capital infrastructure and 800 million Dollars in operational expenditure in the next five years with its recent groundbreaking ceremony at the Free Trade Zone in Calabar.
“Wilmar which is Asia’s leading Agribusiness Group which has taken over the CALARO Ibiaye and Obasanjo palm plantations is investing 400 million Dollars in agro-cultivation and processing and in return along with this come about twenty thousand jobs which would be created for the people from this investment”.
Other investments, the Special Adviser stated are coming from Nigeria’s major industrial conglomerate, Dangote Group which is also investing in the state through the establishment of a cement manufacturing plant worth 800 million Dollars while Essar Power has concluded arrangement for establishing an energy and power plant with a capacity to generate 250 megawatts of electricity and is investing another 200 million dollars.
Energy and gas companies like Oriental Energy Resources Limited and Brentex Petroleum are set to set up plants valued at 300 million Dollars each to manufacture pipe mills which would cumulatively yield 50 million Dollars in IGR to the economy of the state. Major retail outlets like Artee Group and Southern Fried Chicken have enthusiastically acquired spaces in the state and have set up their chain of shops.
“Premier Feeds, a subsidiary of Flour Mills Integrated Feeds, which is also a subsidiary of Flour Mills Plc. has completed work on its feed factory which would soon be commissioned, Godilogo Farms, South Gate Cocoa, Southern Fried Chickens amongst others have entered the state’s investment space within a short span of time which is visibly burgeoning the state’s profile by the day.
According to Mr. Adah, the spin-off effects of these investments is the over 50,000 direct and indirect jobs that have been created for the people and the creation of over 10,000 Small Scale Enterprises as well as an increase in internally generated revenue to the State”.
Giving an insight into what it takes to gain investors confidence and trust to attract them to invest hundreds of millions of Dollars into the state’s economy, Mr. Ada said it takes painstaking efforts and continuous pitching by attending international conferences and fairs to meet with inventors.
“These investors are not on the shelves for one to pick or grow on trees for one to pluck but its takes time and efforts to convince them that in the midst of other competitors your climate offers the best for their investment”.
He said the primary interest for attracting investors is to grow the economy and provide jobs for the people of the state and called for continued support and hospitality of the people towards investors not confrontation to allow them invest more.
follow us on twitter @crossriverwatch