Soludo Making Anambra Investment Destination – Official

Managing director of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), Mr Mark Okoye, has said the Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led administration’s desire to make Anambra State a preferred destination for investors was on course.

Okoye said this in Awka yesterday at a news conference ahead of the second Anambra Investment Summit.

He said the summit, which holds in Awka on November 14, would have in attendance representatives of Afreximbank, African Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Development Finance Institutions and federal government representatives.

He said the state was already reaping benefits of the first investment summit held last year with the implementation of some of the business agreements signed with investors, including the revitalisation of the abandoned Anambra shopping mall.

Okoye said another baseline project being put in place for a smooth take off of Anambra industrialisation was the mixed-use industrial city.

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He said there was also a masterplan for a rail system that would connect major towns and road projects to connect Awka to other parts of the state, adding that the government through ANSIPPA had improved the ease of doing business and incentivised investment.

This, he said, was achieved by offering land to investors in exchange for equity in line with government’s private sector-led economy objective

“The vision of Mr. Governor is to make Anambra a preferred location to live, work, learn, enjoy and relax by making it a smart mega city state that becomes a hub for industrialisation, innovation and tourism.

“To achieve that, the government is working on a number of pillars including security, human capital development, the environment for sustainable cities, rule of law and infrastructure.

“Mr Governor wants to industrialise Anambra, to achieve that, some projects are important; these are industrial parks, rail system, energy sufficiency and export as well as building new cities.

“The summit will be an opportunity to give report of the first one and showcase investment opportunities for local and international investors,” he said.

Also speaking, commissioner for Industry, Mr Christian Udechukwu, said Anambra was working on policy and legal frameworks which would make energy available and accessible.

Udechukwu said the prevailing energy pricing and availability could not support the industrialisation drive of any serious state.

He said there was need for a shift in energy source, adding that Anambra would take advantage of the reforms in the power sector to activate its potential. (NAN)