Lagos Free Zone – Perfect Partner for Growth
30 May, 2024
Lagos Free Zone – Perfect Partner for Growth
For a business, the opportunities for organic growth are embedded in a few fundamental choices. The choice of the right partner is perhaps paramount amongst themas it can help the organization accelerate its growth, overtake its competitors, and increase market share.
Reputable international companies including Colgate-Palmolive, BASF, and Kellogg,have made Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) their preferred partner of choiceas they explore the opportunities in the West African market. LFZ, sprawled over 850hectares and promoted by Singapore-based Tolaram, is the first private special economic zone in Nigeria. It guarantees a host of preferential policies, and incentivesmaking it an ideal partner for growth and expansion in the region.
BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical companies with presence in 93 countries, is a case in point.In May 2020, it set up the BASF Operations Lagos Free Trade Zone (BOLTFZE) to unlock growth for its business units in Nigeria.The dedicated customer service teamat LFZ supports new tenants and makes the onboarding process completely smooth. Setting up at the Zone and acquiring a business operations license takes two weeks on average. In fact, BASF’s Lagos FZE operation has been the fastest setup of a business entity within the company, a feat that the chemical giant primarily credits to the availability of quality infrastructure in the Zone and the depth of knowledge at its disposal from the Tolaram team.
In addition to the ease of setting up the business,Lagos Free Zone’s integration with the 90-hectares Lekki Port has given BASF a significant advantage by offering strategic access to regional and international markets. With a natural depth of over 16.5m, the portcan accommodate vessels four times larger than the ones which dock at the existing ports servicing Lagos.
LFZ applies a wholistic approach to providing solutions for manufacturing. For example, companies can receive, raw materials, process them, store, and distribute to their customers from the industrial hub, all from one location. This agility has enabled BASF to deliver productsto its customers in Nigeria in seven days and customers in west African countries in just two weeks. BASF has been able to unleash a whole new customer experience through LFZ. One of the milestones reached till date was the arrival and delivery of cargo from Lekki Port terminal @LFZ to BASF’s facility in LFZ in just 36 hours. The highly efficient evacuation process was carried out swiftly with the help of STS and RTG cranes, followed by an equally dynamic inspection and customs clearance of the cargo. Using any other major port, this same cargo transfer would have taken up to one week.
At the Lekki Port, modern barges are deployed to quickly evacuate the containers and deliver them to the final destination of the cargo. The presence of regulatory agencies including Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, etc. aid efficient arrival and discharge of cargo.The business process automation not only enhances the turn-around efficiency but also helps reduce overall costs.
The presence at Lagos Free Zone has immensely enhanced BASF’s stock holding capacity because the 9,000 sqm warehouse that it currently operates in the Zone allows it to hold ample inventory. The company is also able to broker transactions to meet the specific needs of its customers including local currency invoicing, end-to-end supply chain handling, and door to door delivery.
LFZ has relentlessly continued to create sustainable value for its stakeholders such as BASF.
