The Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has said that Anambra state is the best place to locate an industry in Nigeria today.
Obiano who stated this in a keynote address he delivered at the Nigeria-Austria Business Forum in Vienna, Austria yesterday noted that the state had a clear logistical advantage as it had a crop of experienced suppliers and middlemen who could facilitate the movement of goods across Africa hence the reason logistics was the sixth Pillar of his administration’s Economic Blueprint.
“We have the largest retail market in West Africa and the best network of roads in Nigeria. Anambra has a high literacy rate, a growing MSMEs sector and a stable political environment guaranteed by the sustainable vision of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling political party in the state which has a strong succession tradition.
“We offer other incentives like easy access to industrial land from our land-bank, tax relief, waivers and a speedy company registration and issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy in record time. We also rank as the most transparent and accountable state in Nigeria for having complied with International Public Sector Accounting System accounting standards”, he said.
The governor stated that Anambra State was in a hurry to turn the inherent promise of its human and material capital into a measurable lived experience and to quickly move from being seen as a state with immense potentials to an oasis of prosperity in Nigeria.
“It is for this reason that we are looking for new partners and new capacities that will help us exploit our natural endowments to meet our expectations. We have over 40 trillion standard cubic feet of gas that has not been touched yet. We need partners that will exploit these rich reserves of gas to our mutual benefits. We need partners for the establishment of modular refineries. We also need partners in the power generation, agriculture, agro-allied industries and in the establishment of Industrial Parks.
“Similarly, with our immense endowments in tourism, we are looking for partners that will help us develop the Ogbunike Cave and Ogbaukwu Caves and Waterfalls into attractive leisure places. Other areas of need include the construction of an Inter-city Light Rail that will link up our major cities of Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi.
“Finally, our three cities of Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka generate a great deal of waste on a daily basis. It is a well-known fact that Austria has advanced competencies that we need to turn the waste we generate in Anambra State to wealth. I also understand that Austria is noted for the manufacture of industrial and agricultural machineries. We are looking for partners in this regard as well”, the governor said.
The Anambra State helmsman recalled that the administration had recorded quite many success stories in its drive for investments into Anambra State adding that the state can boast of some interesting case studies especially in the agricultural sector where some indigenous industrialists like Coscharis Farms had invested $200m in a large mechanized rice farm located in Anaku as well as JOSAN Agro Limited which had invested $180m in an Integrated Farm in Ufuma and Umumbo and finally, Lynden Farms Limited which invested $180m in a modern integrated poultry farm in Igbariam.
He continued,” Our rice production output currently stands at 345,000 metric tons. When my administration took over four years ago, Anambra was producing only 80,000 metric tons. Anambra is also doing well in the production of vegetables and has been exporting vegetables into the United Kingdom.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have put our house in order in Anambra State. We have laid the foundation for growth. We have attracted our own people to invest heavily in the state. But there is nothing as rewarding as a foreign direct investment. Our doors are open to Austria and the rest of Europe. Our doors are open to the world! Please come. Anambra is waiting for you!”
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