By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Anambra government said it has secured investment funding and strategic partnership of over $500 million from the various agreements signed at the end of the second edition of its investment summit held on November 14.
Managing Director of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), Mr Mark Okoye, who gave the post-summit summary on Sunday in Awka said the State was poised to become a leading economic hub in Nigeria.
The summit had the theme “Changing Gears: Accelerating Anambra’s Economic Transformation” with development partners, financial institutions, captains of industries, and government officials in attendance to discuss investment opportunities in the State.
Okoye said investment commitments were made in healthcare, tourism/hospitality, natural gas networks, and urban development.
According to him, Anambra holds 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, representing approximately 15% of Nigeria’s total reserves.
He said the State plans to develop backbone gas pipelines with partnerships to maximise gas distribution efficiency.
“We have agreements to build a specialized cancer treatment facility, the management of Awka International Convention Centre, revitalization of Agulu Lake Hotel, and the development of a statewide gas distribution system.
“With over $500 million in funding commitments and strategic partnerships, Anambra is poised to become a leading economic hub in Nigeria, we invite investors, and development partners to join this transformative journey,” he said.
Okoye disclosed that in 2023, Anambra also secured $250 million from Afreximbank to finance infrastructures for its major projects including the Anambra Mixed-Use Industrial City (AMIC) master plan, and Anambra Intra-City Rail among others.
“AMIC is positioned to catalyse industrialization in the region, with a strong focus on import substitution, exports, and innovation-driven development”, he said.
He said the AMIC master plan was already completed and awaiting groundbreaking while the route selected had been completed for the intra-city rail project and the Awka shopping mall was on track for completion in the second quarter of 2025.
Okoye said Anambra was partnering with UNDP to establish maker’s space, a hub for technology and entrepreneurship while agreements were reached with Genesis Energy and VFD Energy to develop Independent Power Plants.
“The African Development Bank is supporting critical infrastructures, including major roads, fencing, and signature gates for the Special Agro-Processing Zone within AMIC.
“Solar Energy is being deployed in underserved areas of Anambra and public-private-community collaboration is in progress for potable water projects.
“We are expanding the automotive industry with an assembly plant for dual fuel vehicles at Umunya while NKO Farms is establishing;agro-processing facilities for export-focused production.
“Effort is underway to operationalise the Onitsha River Port and facilitate trade as well as develop the Onitsha New City project,” he said.
Okoye said Gov. Chukwuma Soludo’s administration was dedicated to transforming Anambra into a livable and prosperous smart megacity, creating an investor-friendly climate that would foster industrial growth, and promote sustainable development.
According to him, the measures included ease of doing business reforms, diversification of the economy across agriculture, healthcare, energy, and tourism as well as encouraging public-private partnerships for long-term sustainability.
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