By Husdaina Yakubu
Kaduna State Government has attracted a total investment portfolio of $4.48 billion comprising actualized and announced investments in the last seven years, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai, has said.
The governor also said that the efforts had resulted in creating 75, 750 direct and indirect jobs.
El-Rufai made this known in his presentation on Saturday at the 7th Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, which commenced on Thursday.
According to him, the flow of investments is a result of the state government’s continuous effort of providing conducive environment for the private sector to drive the economy through numerous policy actions and reforms.
The governor gave a recap of what his administration achieved since inception and why investors should invest in Kaduna state.
According to him, the state has abundant natural resources, a productive workforce, steady economic growth and serves as the gateway to the northern market.
‘’Kaduna state is also the most improved state in 2018 Ease of Doing Business Subnational report by the World Bank and it has a very investor-friendly environment,” he added.
El-Rufai further said that the state ‘’is also the third biggest consumer market in Nigeria, the third most populous state in Nigeria and has 52% of Nigeria’s consumer market.
‘’Besides, Kaduna state is rich in mineral resources as it has over 25 non-oil mineral deposits, including gold, iron ore and marble,’’ he added.
The governor said one of the major achievements of his administration was raising N52 billion Internally Generated Revenue in 2021, as against N11 billion in 2015, when he assumed office.
He listed other achievements to include the remodeling of Murtala Muhammed Sqaure, which now has world class sporting facilities, shopping malls, restaurants and various recreational centres.
Others are the construction of urban roads in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria, upgrade of schools infrastructure, construction of Kawo and Barnawa flyovers.
‘’KDSG has handed over Zaria Pharmaceuticals to private investors who will produce syringes, intravenous fluids and specimen bottles.
“The revamped company is expected to create 200 direct and over 1,000 indirect jobs,‘’ he added.
According to him, the government has offered loans to women, built a Technology Cit at Barnawa, with CoLab Innovation Campus as anchor tenant.
“The manufacturing facility of AMA Medical, a plant built to produce intravenous fluids, was also commissioned,’’ he recalled.
He said that the innovative Zipline’s operations for instant delivery of medical consumables to health facilities was inaugurated at Pambegua, the first of three planned distribution hubs in the state.
‘’KDSG signed a technical and management service agreement with Doctors Clinic Company of the United Arab Emirates on the 300 bed hospital at Millennium City.
‘’In addition, it also signed an agreement with Elekta for the purchase of equipment for the nuclear medicine and oncology centre at the hospital.
“This will expand the national capacity for treating cancer,’’ he said.
On the theme of KadInvest 7.0, “Building a Resilient Economy’’, the governor said it was for the state government to be innovative in the wake of the global economic slowdown and to sustain ongoing reforms.
According to El-Rufai, states should ‘’begin to innovate and become more resilient against global economic shocks.
“And begin to harness their comparative advantages to increase internally generated revenues and job creation to withstand these crisis.’’(NAN)
