Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says Nigeria’s maritime sector is a haven of opportunities for the world to exploit.
Amaechi said yesterday, at the virtual 2021 Greek-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Technology Investment and Trade Forum that Nigeria is a strategic destination for investments opportunities by Greece.
He stressed that the maritime sector should be particularly attractive to Greek trading and shipping financing, noting that security on Nigeria’s waterways had improved so tremendously as to encourage increased investments.
According to him, Nigeria is open to investments in seaports and other maritime activities. “Presently, there is huge investment in security and efforts are in place to sustain it,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Amaechi also said the Federal Government’s approval for the construction of three new seaports is critical to boosting efficient transportation system.
The new seaports would be at Onne, Rivers; Lekki, Lagos, and Warri in Delta states, with the Lekki port billed to be inaugurated in December 2022.
Investment climate
Earlier, Acting Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Emeka Offor, restated commitment to assisting investors to navigate challenges in investing in Nigeria.
He noted that the Federal Government had shown strong commitment in addressing the challenges militating against investments, adding that Nigeria is one of the most entrepreneurial, innovative and ingenious economies in Africa.
He said: “The Federal Government has put in place reforms that would ensure that Nigeria moves up in terms of ease of doing business.
“Nigeria enacted the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), supported by the Finance Act, so it is easier to do business in Nigeria now.”
While identifying possible areas of interest for investments, Offor noted that the 36 states in the federation and the FCT have various areas of competitive advantage.
“Nigeria is critically endowed with sectors of interest to investors and the NIPC will continue to provide the positive information that would guide the investors to make informed decisions,” he said.
Nigeria is critically endowed with sectors of interest to investors and the NIPC will continue to provide the positive information that would guide the investors to make informed decisions.
According to Offor, Nigeria is better positioned as an ideal gateway economy for leveraging African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Besides, with a large domestic market, expanded market for local goods and services, which create jobs and economic growth positions Nigeria as an ideal gateway economy.
He added that Nigeria’s manufacturing value addition is more than seven times the average of the top 20 economies in Africa.
In his contribution, Managing Director/CEO Bank of Industry (BoI), Olukayode Pitan, said investment in technology was an area that should be explored.
He also identified Nigeria’s creative industry as being very active with about $73 billion, and expressed the BoI’s willingness to give loans to investors at subsidised rates to encourage businesses.
A member of the Board of Directors, Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Deriziotis Konstantinos, said Nigeria opened up windows of opportunities where a deepened bilateral cooperation would become profitable for both countries.
