By Ngozi Onyeakusi—-The Federal Government has approved the designation of four international airports as Special Free Economic Zones (SEZ). This was disclosed by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on his Twitter handle on Thursday morning.
According to him, “I am very glad to announce that Mr President has approved our four international airports as Special Economic Zones. These are Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Our roadmap is working.” An SEZ is a zone with business and trade laws that are different from the rest of the country and are usually located within a country’s national borders with the aim of increasing investment, job creation and effective administration. Nigeria has many Free Trade Zones and aviation stakeholders say the Federal Government’s latest move will promote exports of goods and services, investment from domestic and foreign sources, create employment opportunities and develop infrastructure facilities. However, the government failed to state what the status of Akanu Ibiam International Airport will be as it reopens for international flight operations.