Ogun beckons on Indonesia to develop seaport, airport, housing

The Ogun State government is seeking to collaborate with Indonesia to develop the state’s seaport, airport, housing, and other sectors of its economy.

The government has also announced its plans to set up an economic team to liaise with Indonesian investors to explore areas of interests that will be mutually beneficial to both the state and the Pacific nation.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun made this known when he hosted the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Usra Hendra Harahap, in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Abiodun noted that Indonesia has made tremendous progress in the areas of technology, infrastructure, housing, transportation and medicine, expressing the state’s interest to tap in.

“Ogun has more than enough land to accommodate a lot of industries. We are desirous of building a seaport because the deepest part of water in the country is in our state,” the governor said.

“We will be willing to collaborate with Indonesia to develop seaport, airport, housing, and other sectors. We look forward to seeing how the state and Indonesia can work together to actualise all these,” he said.

According to the governor, Ogun State has more than 12,000 square kilometres of arable land suitable for the cultivation of food and cash crops, adding that the state has the highest palm oil plantations which the Indonesian investors could leverage.

Abiodun said his administration was adopting a multi-dimensional transportation system that would help in fast-tracking the economy of the state, expressing the hope that Indonesia, with its feat in the sector, would work with the state to achieve its transportation objectives.

While assuring conducive environment for investment, the governor assured the Indonesian ambassador that Ogun State has put in place what investors need in terms of ease of doing business and availability of adequate manpower.

On electricity, however, he said the state was working towards providing adequate electricity in all its industrial clusters, inviting Indonesian companies and investors from other parts of the world to come and explore potentials that exist in the state.

Speaking earlier, Harahap said Indonesia has made significant inroad in the areas of technology, infrastructure, agriculture, medicine, among others, noting that his country has a lot of interesting information on Ogun State and was ready to do business with the state.

According to him, the state government’s desire to bequeath a modern transportation system that would herald more development was well known to Indonesia, adding that the country was ready to invest in modern railway and would collaborate with the state in developing its cargo airport.

The ambassador further disclosed that Indonesian companies have built landmark infrastructure in many parts of the world ranging from bridges, heavy machines, blue-chip equipment, solar systems, among others.

“Indonesian investors are interested in joint ventures with their Nigerian counterparts in agriculture and housing development,” he said.