Lagos Set to Unveil 30-year Development Plan

•State accounted for 71% of Nigeria’s $1.5bn FDI in Q1 2022, LCCI reveals

Segun James

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday disclosed plan by the state to unveil a 30-year development plan.

Sanwo-Olu said the development plan that would be launched at the forthcoming 9th Economic Summit of the State (known as Ehingbeti), was developed in pursuit of the state’s physical development.

This was just as the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) disclosed that the state accounted for over 71 per cent of the nation’s $1.5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2022.

LCCI President, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, who disclosed this at a meeting with Sanwo-Olu yesterday, indicated the Chamber’s continued readiness to partner with the governor’s administration for a better business environment.

At the meeting which was held in Lagos, at the instance of the LCCI, Sanwo-Olu hinted that each of the four dimensions in the development plan for the state would be achieved through over 400 policy initiatives that would be implemented throughout the30 year period.

He said: “The Lagos State Development Plan 2052 has been developed with a set of clear objectives across four strategic dimensions, which are to position Lagos on the track to achieving its vision.

“The dimensions to this plan are to keep a thriving economy that will make Lagos a robust, healthy and growing economy with adequate jobs and strategic investments to sustain growth.

“We are building a human-centric city in which every Lagosian will have access to affordable and world-class education, healthcare and social services.

“There will be deliberate effort to keep modernising our infrastructure, by providing reliable and sufficient infrastructure that meets the needs of a 21st century city. The plan will also bring about sustenance of effective governance. Lagos will have a supportive and enabling environment that creates opportunities for all Lagosians.

This is a huge task that must be achieved between now and the nearest possible future.”

Sanwo-Olu believed the plan would not be realised when the private sector – the drivers of the State’s economy – is not carried along in the implementation of the identified policy phases.

The governor used the occasion to reel out interventions initiated by the state government in the areas of infrastructure, transportation, education, healthcare, security, environment and technology to improve the ease of doing business in Lagos.

“For the first time, we are seeing a sub-national Government building rail lines to improve mobility. Lagos is expecting two brand-new light rail projects in a few months and we took this audacious decision about three years ago to deliver this important transport infrastructure.

“Our intervention in education has yielded a highly encouraging outcome, given the results of our students in national examinations. All of these have confirmed that we are on the right track,” he added.

Earlier, Olawale-Cole said Lagos had continued to be the investment haven for FDIs coming to the country.

“Policy direction is critical for a thriving and supportive business environment in any economy. The quality of the policy is a key consideration for local and foreign investment decisions.

“With an improved business environment, Lagos can attract more capital inflows from Nigerians in Diaspora as a more sustainable funding for the provision of required infrastructure. Enormity of needs in Lagos requires the cooperation of both the public and private sector,” he added.

The LCCI boss announced that Lagos would be the official chief host of the international tech and telecommunication (ICTEL) expo coming up in August.

On his part, the LCCI Deputy President and Group Executive Director at Dangote Group, Mr. Knut Ulvmoen, said Sanwo-Olu took his most important decision to come out and meet with the investors.

The Norwegian who has lived in Lagos for 36 years, said he had witnessed the city transformed before his eyes into a blossoming economy.

He said: “The Lagos narrative is a story in progress. The city is now cleaner than it used to be. I implore the government to focus more on education and make it accessible to the teeming young people.

“This is what will sustain the city in the long term. Government leaders should demand more than donations from the international community; they must come and create jobs.”