The Ogun state government has signed a $400 million memorandum of understanding with a foreign company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platform, on the development of the Olokola Free Trade Zone and Processing Zone from Remo Agro.
State Governor Dapo Abiodun signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the company’s founder and CEO Gagan Gupta on Friday at the EXCO room of the Governor’s Office in Abeokuta.
Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony, Gupta revealed that his organization would focus on Olokola Free Trade Zone and Remo Agricultural Processing Zone.
He explained that the $400 million would be for the completion of the first phase of the projects, saying that by July 2023 the investment would be higher.
According to him, his organization would focus on infrastructure development of the Olokola Free Trade Zone as well as the Remo Cluster area and Agro Cargo Airport in the field of agro-industry.
Gupta, who also noted that the intention of the group was to ensure that works start in the industrial zone by July 1 this year, added that the group would also focus more on the upstream sector.
The founder of Arise Integrated Industrial Platform added that his company would provide equity by leaving 35% open to national players and the state, saying “we would be happy to have Ogun State as a partner.”
“Our ethical moral is that we will have 65% equity and leave 35% open to domestic players including Ogun State. We want the state to be our partner and the state will take equity and national actors will take equity,” he stressed.
Gupta commended the level of information made available by the state government to his team when assessing areas to invest in.
“After visiting Ogun State for two weeks, we were very pleased with the amount of information shared. I have to admit that I did not expect the information to be so readily available, it seemed like we were dealing with the private sector and not the government,” he said.
In response, Governor Abiodun commended the company for choosing Ogun and noted that the project would not only create employment opportunities but would be a training center as the company would set up a technical training center for train craftsmen for the subsistence of the project.
He said: “We are happy to find an Afrocentric partner; who understands the sub-region and all the issues that concern the people and is ready to spend more than 400 million dollars. We are indeed very happy that you are in Ogun State.
“I am happy that you are setting up two economic zones, one in Olokola which will take care of mobility and automotive and the other, the Remo cluster, which will take care of agro-industry. We will support you and we will leave no stone unturned. Our support for you will be total. The infrastructure you bring will bring more investors to come to our state.”
Abiodun said his administration initially identified the comparative advantage of the state and worked to attract more investors whose investments would not only improve the socio-economic well-being of the people but also retain the state’s position as an industrial capital. from the country.
He reiterated that “Ogun remains the safest state in the country due to the security architecture put in place, as more than 400 km of road have been constructed and various reforms and policies put in place to help improve the state’s ease of doing business ranking”. .
The governor, however, said that the signing of the memorandum of understanding was the result of the roadshows he had participated in in different parts of the world, noting that it “will create more than 25,000 jobs, a technical training center and a platform -form that benefits the state and the country in the form of corporate social responsibility. My administration will do everything to sustain this relationship.”