Anambra Investment Summit: Opportunities, And Energy Challenge For Businesses
As the business community converge on the International Convention Centre,Awka, Thursday, Nov. 14 for the second edition of Anambra Investment Summit, available and affordable energy is expected to top duscuss as the Gov. Chukwuma Soludo continues to push for industrial transformation of the state.
This has become pertinent following the continued increase in cost of electricity and constant collapse of the national grid of energy which is a critical infrastructure in the industrialisation efforts of any state or economy.
The summit will be another opportunity to showcase the immense investment opportunities of Anambra to the business community and the rest of the world, highlighting the regulatory environment and social infrastructure being put in place by the Prof. Soludo led administration.
Since his assumption of office, Soludo has not hidden his desire to transform Anambra to an industrial hub and investors’ preferred destination.
The biggest business meet East of Nigeria will have in attendance big Development Finance Institutions like the African Development Bank, Afri-exim Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Central Bank of Nigeria and representatives of the Federal Government.
Briefing journalists recently ahead of the Summit, Mr Mark Okoye, Managing Director of Anambra Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) said the event would be a follow up on the successes of the first edition held in 2023.
The Anambra mixed-use Industrial is a big-bang plan estimated at $200,000 which will ensure harmonious integration of the various sectors of the economy and catalyse the industrial agenda of the state government
The components of the mix-used are Entertainment, Recreational and Leisure Zone; Non Processing Zone (Residential); Financial District and Services Sector; Solar Park, Railway Siding Facilities and Logistics Hub; as well as Automotives and Motor Vehicles Assembly Zone.
The project will also have Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone; Textile and Leather Products Processing Zone; Domestic Tariff Area and MSMEs; Chemical and Pharmacy Zone; Export Emporium, among others.
The project’s design emphasizes the promotion of sustainable practices, including the incorporation of energy-efficient infrastructure, encouragement of green industries, and implementation of waste management systems to minimise emissions.
Additionally, the shift towards a mixed-use industrial city, with emphasis on eco-friendly technologies and efficient transportation networks, is expected to significantly reduce emissions associated with traditional industrial zones over time.
Mr Mark Okoye, Managing Director of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) who addressed newsmen at the weekend said Summit was in furtherance to Gov. Chukwuma Soludo’s effort to transform Anambra to investors’ haaven.
Okoye said the state was already reaping benefits of the first edition of the summit held in 2023 as some of the business agreements signed with investors including the revitalisation of the abandoned Anambra shopping mall were already underway.
He said the government through ANSIPPA had improved the ease of doing business and incentivised investment by offering land to investors in exchange for equity in line with its private sector led economy objective
He said the vision of Mr. Governor was 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.
“Mr Governor wants to industriallise Anambra, to achieve that, some projects are important, these are industrial parks, rail system, energy sufficiency and export as well as building new cities.
Granted that Anambra presents immense business opportunities, the internet of human and natural resources with a friendly institutional environment, available and affordable energy remains a humongous challenge.
It is expected that strategies for sustainable energy sources through effective policy and legal framework would be discussed extensively to drive the industrialisation drive of the state.
The summit is expected to evolve roadmap for alternative or a mix of sources
such as solar, gas powered and biofuel.
