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NEPZA blames ex-govs for abandoned Koko Port FTZ

By Anthony Otaru, Abuja
10 August 2021   |   4:04 am
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has said that lack of interest in Koko Port Free Trade Zone Scheme by past governors of Delta State is responsible for the abandonment of the faculty.

Adesoji Adesugba

Plans underway to revive facility
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has said that lack of interest in Koko Port Free Trade Zone Scheme by past governors of Delta State is responsible for the abandonment of the faculty.

NEPZA argued that the closure had not only robbed the state of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), but denied the citizens job opportunities over the years.

Koko FTZ is located about 35km from the port city in Sapele, Warri North Local Council with a land allocation of 2,327ha.

However, the authority said it has commenced discussions on the possibility of re-activating the moribund FTZ to attract investment and boost economic activities in the state.

The Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, made this known yesterday when he led officials of the authority to a meeting with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in Asaba, Delta State.

Adesugba urged the state to immediately set machinery in motion for the commencement of the resuscitation of the zone, adding that the state government should take the advantage of location of the zone to attract investors.

He said the scheme was aimed at driving the county’s industrialisation process, even as he explained that it was incumbent on state governments to align with it.

“Your Excellency, my team and I are here to encourage the state on the need to resuscitate this moribund Koko Port FTZ. We are on a mission to ensure that all non-active zones in the country are revived. The state has more to gain from this move because of the strategic location of the zone; both the Warri and Koko ports are nature’s gift the state must use to boost her economy.

“As a resourceful and dynamic governor, we are hopeful that you will commence and finish this project before the end of your tenure. NEPZA is prepared to provide the technical support to make this happen,” Adesugba told Okowa.

Responding, the governor expressed delight on the intervention of the Federal Government to revamp the inactive Koko FTZ.

Okowa stressed that the new NEPZA leadership was providing development direction for economic growth across the country, adding that Delta was prepared to cash in on the scheme to expand her development frontiers.

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