The fund,
according to the bank, will be dedicated towards projects and other
developmental initiatives embarked upon by the incumbent administration in the
state.
The
President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Afrexim Bank, Benedict
Oramah, who made this known when he led management of the bank on a courtesy
visit to Governor Dapo Abiodun at his Oke-Mosan Office, Abeokuta, on Monday,
equally said the bank would partner Ogun in ensuring that the 250-bed
Specialist Hospital, Abeokuta, is completed and begins operations soon.
Oramah,
while noting that the bank has been investing heavily in the health sector in
Africa to develop vaccines and other drugs, declared that Afrexim Bank is also
ready to collaborate with the state-owned Gateway Pharmaceuticals in similar
direction.
“We are
willing to dedicate an envelope of $200m for projects and initiatives here in
Ogun State; we will also be happy to see the hospital project. We will be very
pleased to look at this asset and see how we can partner with your government.
I assure you that we will consider the Gateway Pharmaceuticals in our plans to
invest in the health sector,” he hinted.
The Afrexim
Bank President who added that the bank would be working with the state
government in its quest to make its road infrastructure more accessible for
investors, also said that the bank would be interested in the Cargo Airport
being built by the state.
“On the
highways we are also developing, there is a connectivity we are looking for in
terms of how we connect Nigeria to the Benin Republic and others, connecting
Ogun to Lagos and of course to the border. It is something that is of interest
to us, if there is any road that goes from here to the border, connecting where
you stopped, that will be interesting, we can work with you.
“The
airport is also Heliopolis, it is something of importance because we even have
a project there called The Quality Assurance Testing Inspection Center. This
will be critical for implementing this airport, we can assure that it is something
we would be interested in developing with you.
“We are
willing under the $200m envelope that I mentioned, to provide technical
assistance which can be grants. We will look at how we can support to help you
develop some ideas, by providing advisory services.
“We can
also use our Project Preparation Facility to help prepare projects. For
example, this hospital we are talking about, we can use this facility to
develop it,” Oramah stated.
Earlier in
his remarks, Governor Abiodun noted that the Quality Assurance Testing Center
would complement the International Cargo Airport, adding his administration
would continue to do all it can to make Ogun the destination of choice for
investors.
Abiodun
said that his administration had in the last few months embarked on the
construction of roads across the state, especially the Ijebu-Ode-Epe,
Agbara-Lusada-Atan Roads, which according to him, are capital intensive,
expressing his administration’s readiness to receive support from the bank.
“We have
built one and we are building another at great a expense to the state. These
roads are federal roads and they are also commercial roads. We invite Afrexim
Bank to partner with us.
“Agbara-Lusada-Atan
Road is the road that used to be called the Lagos-Sokoto Expressway. That road
in its present state is very shameful and we have since intervened. We have
awarded the contract of that road and it will be delivered in 15 months time at
a great expense to the state. We will concession and toll these roads on
completion in order to be able to recoup the investment. We invite Afrexim Bank
to come and look at how to partner with us”. Abiodun said.
The
governor, who also called on the bank to support his administration’s quest to
build an international Cargo Airport, said the airport when completed would be
a cargo hub for the country and the continent of Africa as a whole.
“Our
International Cargo Airport that we are building is our Special Agro Processing
Zone. Construction has started. It is our hope that the construction will be
completed before the end of next year. We also invite Afrexim Bank to look at
how to partner with us because it promises to be a Cargo hub, not just for
Nigeria, but for the entire continent.
“We look
forward to seeing the Afrexim Bank to create an MSMEs fund that would be
targeted at MSMEs and also create clusters that would allow them to access the
lands at a reduced pricing with a phased payment plans. Such fund would allow
the MSMEs to have access to the funding they would need to meet their demands.
“The
success of MSMEs is very fundamental to any Industrial revolution. We are an
industrial state, so, we have been deliberate with our support for MSMEs to the
extent that we are creating clusters for them. We are creating these clusters
that will allow them to access the lands at a reduced pricing with phased out
payment plans so that they can have a land, title documents that they can use
in leveraging and starting their enterprises”. The governor highlighted.
Abiodun,
however, commended the bank’s support towards the production of vaccines and
drugs in the African continent and its readiness to partner Gateway
Pharmaceuticals in similar direction.
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