reply Accelerating integration in Hong Kong and the region New practice of Chinese experience in Africa

"The Lekki Port project can well meet the needs of Nigeria's economic development, and the Chinese experience of using ports to drive regional development will be put into practice in Africa. As a commercial project of tripartite cooperation between China, France and Nigeria, Laiki Port is of great significance to further promote the joint construction of 'One Belt, One Road' in Africa in the future." Cui Jianchun, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, said this at the recent completion ceremony of the Lekki deep-water port project in Nigeria.Laiki Port, invested and operated by China Harbour, started construction in June 2020 with a 45-year concession period and a total investment of US$1.044 billion, is the first modern deep-water port in the Gulf of Guinea held by a Chinese-funded enterprise and one of the largest ports in West Africa.For many years, 80% of Nigeria's national cargo imports and exports rely on the Lagos port, which has been used for many years and is currently at capacity due to the backwardness of roads and port construction. The port of Lekki has a capacity of 18,000 TEU container vessels and an annual design capacity of 1.2 million TEU. The completion of Lekki Port will make Lagos a maritime logistics hub in West and Central Africa, and will provide nearly 200,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigeria in the coming years, which will effectively unlock Nigeria's economic development potential.This will also bring new development opportunities to the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which is being built and operated in partnership with China and Africa adjacent to the port of Lekki. The objective of the Lekki Free Trade Zone was to create a modern, integrated city for production, living, leisure and entertainment, with four main sectors: processing and manufacturing, trade and logistics, real estate and urban services. However, with the construction of the Lekki Port and the intention of Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, to build the world's largest single oil refinery next door to the Free Trade Zone, the Lekki Free Trade Zone has adjusted its development strategy to create a modern new port city here.The completion of the Lekki Port brings the Lekki FTA one step closer to this goal."The Lekki Port is the fruit of friendly relations between China and Nigeria, a bridge and link between Nigeria and the world. Together with the Lekki FTA, it forms a virtuous development pattern of a former port, a middle area and a back city, and the Lekki FTA and the Lekki Port are crucial to the future development of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. The Lekki Free Trade Zone and the Port of Lekki will definitely move forward steadfastly towards the goal and direction of 'you in me, me in you', which in turn will continue to promote the consolidation and development of China-Nigeria relations." Lu Dapeng, Head of Investment Promotion at Lekki Investment Company Limited, said that due to its proximity to the port, trade, logistics, e-commerce and bonded business will be the key areas for the future development of the Lekki FTZ, especially e-commerce will be the focus of the next strategic development of the FTZ.Lu Dapeng believes that the operation of Laiki Port will greatly relieve the pressure of local customs operations, and also bring great development opportunities to the Laiki Free Trade Zone, especially attracting enterprises in the upstream and downstream industry chains of overseas warehouses, bonded warehouses, international logistics and other industries related to the port to invest in the Free Trade Zone. At present, he said, a number of head enterprises from the machinery manufacturing, power supply, new energy, photovoltaic and electronic information industries have already set up in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in advance, mainly through the establishment of overseas warehouses and other businesses in the Free Trade Zone, which has greatly improved the efficiency of logistics and transportation in the West African region, laying a good foundation for rapid deployment and occupation of the local market. With the operation of Lekki Port, it will further enhance the function of Lekki FTZ as an important grip for overseas warehouses, bonded warehouses and international logistics, thus further attracting more and more enterprises to invest.Data shows that in the first 10 months of this year, the Lekki FTZ Development Company has signed investment agreements with a total of 11 enterprises, of which seven were for the purchase of land, three were for the lease of factory buildings and one was for a power concession agreement; the cumulative area of land sold reached 128,203 square metres and the cumulative area of factory buildings leased reached 7,400 square metres."In the future, with the completion of the Dangote refinery, petrochemicals and its supporting industries will also be another key area of strategic adjustment in the Lekki Free Trade Zone." Lu Dapeng said that in the future, the Lekki FTZ will also attract companies in areas including automotive and construction machinery, household appliances, household building materials, oil and gas chemicals, e-commerce and logistics. It is important to note that the Laiki FTZ will set selection criteria for the enterprises to be located, choosing those that are deeply involved in the "Belt and Road" construction and can enhance the efficiency of international production capacity cooperation, or those that meet the needs of the local industrialisation level, giving priority to key or leading enterprises that are energy-saving and environmentally friendly, with high technological content and high production value. Priority will be given to key or leading enterprises with high energy-saving and environmental protection, high technological content and high production value.