Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has expressed his appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for demonstrating total support for the Enyimba Economic City project through the grant of a Free Trade Zone status, the first ever in the South East region of the country.
Ikpeazu noted that apart from fully subscribing to 20% equity stake in the project, the Federal Government has also approved the application for the establishment of an inland port at the Economic City.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the African Investment Forum organized by the Africa Development Bank,the Governor who was at the event as a guest of the Bank,said that the project has the capacity to turn around the economy of the State and the entire South East region of the country.
He described the Enyimba Economic City Project as the most viable economic roadmap to a sustainable future for the people adding that the project is the most comprehensive economic development project undertaken under the Public Private Partnership model in the country.
The Governor while expressing deep delight that the Africa Development Bank has keyed into the project owing to its clear economic potentials, disclosed that the project has a huge futuristic impact as it will create at least 700,000 jobs between now and the next ten years and assured that with the completion of the initial feasibility studies undertaken by world class companies, the ground breaking of the project will be performed by the President during the last quarter of this year, by which time some companies would have commenced physical development and activities within the Economic City.
He thanked the Africa Development Bank for rating the project tops on the list of three projects from Nigeria that has passed the integrity tests of the Bank, assured the Bank and other stakeholders in the project that his administration is totally committed to the project through the provision of all necessary support from government.
The Enyimba Economic City Project lies on an excess of 9500 hectares of land and traverses Ugwunagbo and Ukwa West Local Government Areas. It will be both an industrial center and a manufacturing hub with several other facilities embedded inside of the city.
