Investor: If Harnessed, Emerging South-South Economic Triangle Can Compete with Lagos Economic Corridor

The economic triangle connecting Port Harcourt, Uyo and Aba in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States, respectively, can compete favourably with the Lagos business corridor if properly harnessed, an investment expert, My-ACE China has said.  

Mr. China, who said this recently during an engagement with the Chairman of Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Sunday Etim, called on governments of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Abia states to invest strategic resources to make this a reality.

The real estate success strategist, who has won numerous local and international awards, drew the Governor’s attention to the emerging development, urging them to intentionally accelerate the emergence of the economic triangle.

Speaking to newsmen in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State at the conclusion of his business trip to the State, Mr. China, who is the Managing Director of Housing and Construction Mayor Limited, said the envisaged economic corridor would compete favourably with the Lagos economic hub or even better.

“Talking about ‘Economic Triangle’, the only place that can wrest economic power from Lagos is Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Rivers states axis or corridor.”

“This corridor contains more than Lagos has, if they can be interconnected with smooth roads, ports, and if their blue potentials are unlocked. They will not only wrest power from Lagos but would be more lucrative.”

The investor who is behind the emerging Alesa Highlands Green Smart City in Eleme near Port Harcourt, said the new ‘Economic Triangle’ has a bigger potential due to massive land assets with the corridor plus blue economy and the existing hydrocarbon industry.

Explaining, Mayor of Housing said Aba (Abia State) provides the biggest fabrication capacity in West Africa to supply goods to the Gulf of Guinea; Port Harcourt provides access to the Gulf of Guinea for off-taking Aba products, and the Uyo provides deep sea port at Ibaka and international airport facilities as well as forest reserves for massive agro-economy.

He said with river ports in Rivers State and deep seaport in Akwa Ibom, and international airports in Rivers and Akwa Ibom, Aba can focus on adequate power supply and fabrication boom to supply a new booming market around the economic triangle.

By doing this, he said, jobs would spill out in huge quantities and more manufacturers would be drawn from all over Africa to boost the fast coming African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He said Nigeria would thus have two major trade nodes in West Africa; Lagos and the PH/UYO/Aba triangle.

He said goods going to or coming from Chad, Niger, and the rest of Central Africa can head to the Lagos ports or to the Ibaka/PH ports zone in the new economic triangle.

He said with power supply made stable, good roads, excellent security system, and ease of doing business enthroned in the zone, the south-south and south east would become the biggest economic nerve in the near future.

Mayor of Housing called on governors of the three states to be intentional about the new corridor, put away political differences (if any), and create this corridor by agreeing on projects each state would execute with a short period of time so the states would be linked by good roads, communication, security, trade laws, concessions to investors, etc.

He remarked that northerners were already heading to the Onne Port in Rivers State export goods, saying creating a commission to oversee the development of the ‘Economic Triangle’ would fast-track its emergence.

He observed that people of the three states were peaceful and are usually preoccupied by zeal for economy prosperity, saying that if they are linked to such huge opportunities staring at them in the emerging economic triangle, they would totally shun violence and focus on prosperity.

Mr. China insisted that the emerging economic triangle would form a big node not only into the Gulf of Guinea economic zone but into Africa because AfCFTA is about production, certification, market availability, and easy transport nodes by sea and air. He said the new economic triangle boasts of all the factors.

On how to achieve this, Mr. China gave advice: “They can only realise this by working together, through collaboration. One state cannot do it but a triad of the three will create it through seamless interconnection, ports, industrial park, etc. People will be the richest and internally generated revenue (IGR) will be the biggest in the country.”