Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has encouraged investors to channel more resources towards production for export.

 

Governor Soludo was speaking during a Business Roundtable with manufacturers, importers and exporters in Anambra.

 

The International Convention Centre, Awka was venue of the event which had the theme; “From Import to Industrialization for Export”.

Governor Soludo said that the roundtable session was organized to ascertain the challenges facing manufacturers, importers and exporters with a view to assisting investors to solve them.

 

The Governor highlighted his administration’s economic transformation initiative including pharmaceutical processing hub, Export Emporium, Free Trade Zones, Industrial Parks, Leisure Hubs among others.

On the ease of doing business in the state, the Governor revealed that reforms are ongoing in Anambra Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA to make sure that “multi-doors” are created to eliminate bottlenecks and speed up approval time for investors.

The Governor who said that his administration is already driving production efforts in agriculture, especially engendering an eco-system around palm and coconut farming, assured that his government is working to reduce processing time for acquiring land C of O down to seventy-two hours.

Professor Soludo equally centered discussions on creation of road markings to differentiate red zones from free Zones for motorists, as a way of checking abuses by ARTMA officials, exploring the possibility of generating power with gas, among others.

As a way of projecting Anambra as an investment destination, he promised that by December this year, Upper Iweka will wear a new look and become the safest place, by the time the new security measures are introduced.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Industry, Mr. Christian Udechukwu said that the session is in line with Governor Soludo’s vision of transforming the state into one of the biggest industrial, financial, economic, leisure and entertainment hub in the continent, accelerating the “Made in Anambra Export Policy Initiatives” to offer the state huge share of the African continental market.

 

Participants at the event took time to walk the Governor through their challenges including the Monday sit-home, bad roads in and around Onitsha, especially Owerri Road, difficulty in processing VISA, difficulty in procurement of C of O, insecurity, touting, revival of the Onitsha Seaport, among others, and pleaded with government to mount CCTVs at Upper Iweka and other entry points, to encourage investors to come in.

 

They also advocated the establishment of integrated trade platform, facilitated by the state, provision of incentives for more people to go into industrialization, creation of a contributory scheme for manufacturers for greater impact, among others as the way forward.

Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Ernest Ezeajughi, members of Anambra State Executive Council, among others, attended the event.

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