Indomie Maker, Tolaram Targets $2bn Investments in Lagos Free Zone
By Success Johnson
Tolaram Group, which owns Dufil Prima Foods, the producer of Indomie noodles is betting on companies seeking to expand in West Africa to attract at least $2 billion of investments in its economic
zone by the end of next year.
Lagos Free Zone Company also owned by Tolaram and other firms, including BASF SE and Colgate-Palmolive Co., “have committed to invest” in infrastructure and factories,” at the economic zone, Chief Financial Officer Ashish Khemka said. Some $1.1 billion has already been spent in the zone, of which Tolaram’s subsidiary spent $450 million, according to Khemka.
Among the amenities in Lagos Free Zone is a deep seaport set to start operations next year, with capacity to receive vessels loaded with as many as 18,000 twenty-foot long containers, almost four times the size of ships calling at Nigerian ports, according to Khemka. The facility also has shared utilities and warehousing services, he said.
Nigeria is encouraging private investors to help develop the nation’s infrastructure to help diversify Africa’s largest economy from depending on oil, and accelerate its growth. The government is offering prospective investors in the economic zone incentives, including the ease of repatriating profits and some tax exemptions.
Tolaram plans to complete construction of the first phase of the 830-hectare (2,051-acre) economic zone in 2023, and the entire project by 2035, according to Khemka.
The group’s operations in Nigeria over at least 45 years span several businesses, from consumer goods to infrastructure and financial technology.
The new economic zone “will be a game changer for the country as it will bring down the cost of doing business,”
Khemka said. “By 2035, we hope to have attracted investments of about $5 billion.”
