by Uchechukwu Okoroafor, Abuja
The coming on stream of the Geometric Power Plant in Aba, the famous Enyimba City, following the commissioning of the power plant by Vice President Kashim Shettima recently, has continued to attract local and global attention, as the media is awash with stories of companies around the country planning to move their manufacturing facilities to Aba to enjoy uninterrupted power supply in order to reduce the cost of production, which had been the bane of industries in Nigeria for decades.
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One of the beneficiaries of the uninterrupted electricity that Geometrics brought to Aba is the Enyimba Economic City. The Enyimba Economic City is a 9,464 hectare tax- and duty free special economic zone that aims to transform Abia State, Nigeria, into a manufacturing and industrial powerhouse. It’s designed to create a global business hub in Nigeria with world class infrastructure, including dedicated 24/7 power and broadband internet. Enyimba Economic City will promote the integration of Nigerian businesses into regional and global value chains. It is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the Made in Nigeria for Export (MINE) Programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and it has Free Trade Zone status. The project is fully conceptualized, and Phase One is designed and shovel ready.
Some of the main goals are to eradicate unemployment and transform Nigeria into a manufacturing and industrial powerhouse in Africa.
Recently, Mr. Vishal Jhadav, the Managing Director of Crescendo Worldwide, a diverse FDI consultancy firm based in India, anticipated that the Enyimba Economic City (ECC), located in Abia State, will boost the trade volume between Nigeria and India to $20 billion. Jhadav shared this information with newsmen in Abuja at a dinner event organized by the Enyimba Economic Development Company (EEDC).
“Today, India and Nigeria do about $11 billion volume of trade and it is fluctuating between $11 to $15 billion. “So, with this new Economic City, we are targeting towards increasing this trade between the two countries to $20 billion. “And we are proud to say that there are more than 76 Indian companies, who have registered their interest, setting up their manufacturing facilities inside Enyimba and these companies are from diverse sectors,” he said.
Jhadav said that in collaboration with other stakeholders and private sector companies, it will create about 2000 to 3000 new jobs in Enyimba Economic City. He further mentioned that these initiatives are expected to generate approximately $400 million in trade and investments, extending their reach to markets across the entire African continent from Nigeria. He stated that the EEC is poised to present unparalleled investment opportunities for companies from India and worldwide. “We are speaking about companies from manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aerospace and medical devices. “All mixed sizes of companies, coming together and setting up their factories there, and this will not just be for the Nigerian market but for the whole African market, driving it from Nigeria.
“Our role as Enyimba Economic City and Chriscendo Worldwide is that we want to drive this growth and this vision so that these 76 Indian companies, when they will be functional and set up their factories, they will create about 2000 to 3000 new jobs. “They will have about 400 million dollars of trade and investments; they will extend to the whole of African continent market from Nigeria,” he added.
Economic City is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project of Crown Realties Plc, the Abia Government, and the Federal Government. The project is being executed under the Made in Nigeria for Export (MINE) programme of the Federal Government and has currently won validation as the single largest urban development project in Africa. It is a special economic zone that is planned to connect the nine states in the South-East and South-South zones of Nigeria, with a captive population of about 60 million, into a global business hub. According to report, AfreximBank is committing a total investment of $150 million in the proposed EEC project, while the Federal Government has handed the management of its 20% equity holding in the project to the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Also, unconfirmed reports in the media show that pharmaceutical giant, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals PLC, headquartered in Lagos, among others, has disclosed plans to move their manufacturing facilities to Aba.
Due to the high cost of production because of a lack of electricity, it is only sensible for industries to relocate their manufacturing base to Aba. Maxxis Tyres, a renowned brand under Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. in Taiwan, reportedly plans to set up its production plant in Aba, contributing to the city’s economic growth. The plant will manufacture a wide range of tires, including those for motorcycles, tricycles, cars, light trucks, ATVs, and trailers.
As companies within and outside Nigeria look towards Aba as a manufacturing base, Enyimba City is now poised to play its historic role as the ‘Japan’ of Africa. It is also important to ensure peace in not only Aba and environs but also in the whole state and indeed in the South East and Nigeria in general. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are beckoning in Aba to engage youths of Abia and the South East. It is now time for the youths of Abia and the South East to shone enemies of progress who may want to recruit them for one agitation or another. Nothing should be done to jeopardize the golden opportunity provided by Geometric Power Plant and the leadership of Dr Alex Otti as the governor of Abia State.