SMART CITY DUBAI EYES LAGOS WITH $10 BILLION INVESTMENT

A consortium of investors united under the Smart City Dubai project is to stake about $10 billion in Lagos, in what is seen as renewed interest in Africa’s biggest economy, as President Muhammadu Buhari, and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State inch closer to unveiling their cabinets later this month. Smart City is said to be eyeing key sectors of the economy such as transportation, communications, infrastructure development and electricity, among others. A number of local and international business delegations have so far visited Lagos since the inauguration of the new administration on May 29, and held talks with the government. Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve centre, remains an attractive hub for investors. Its economy is considered bigger than several West African countries; and equivalent to that of Ghana at over $45 billion, according to a study by Renaissance Capital. BusinessDay gathered that the long delays in the constitution of the federal cabinet, as is also the case in Lagos, had slowed down eager investors who want to see and study the policy direction of the new governments. However, following the submission of names of nominees for the position of ministers to the security agencies for screening by President Buhari, the investors’, the investors seem to be regaining appetite. Governor Ambode is also putting finishing touches to his list of commissioners for submission to the state House of Assembly’s approval. An official of Lagos State told BusinessDay on Monday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) investors are in talks with the government, seeking to invest $10 billion in the state. The investors had earlier been introduced to Governor Ambode by Pat Utomi, a businessman and founder of the Centre for Values and Leadership (CVL) who is said to be on the ministerial list of President Buhari. The Smart City Dubai investors are said to be interested in transportation, communications, infrastructure development and electricity, among other key sectors of the economy. “Lagos economy would be better for it in terms of employment and building the confidence of other foreign investors,” said a state official. At the first meeting of governor Ambode with the investors, the governor had said, “we are committed to a situation where we would create a new city where Africans, and especially Nigerians in diaspora can be proud of and which we also can be proud of. “One area that Lagos is really interested in is the agro business. I am very interested in the food security of this state. We have a population that is over 20 million and we should be able to plan properly, the food security of the state. “We cannot claim that we are self sufficient right now, but we have a plan to be able to let us feed ourselves at some point in time. It is quite unfortunate that right now, the state consumes almost N300billion worth of rice annually and what we have in terms of production is maybe like five percent of what we require”, he said. Businessday