China is to invest US$267 million to establish the first-phase of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, a senior Chinese official said in Lagos on Monday.

In a press conference held at the Lagos state government secretariat, Chen Xiaoxing, head of a visiting Chinese delegation, said the Chinese government has approved the establishment of the Lekki FTZ, the first of its kind China has ever built abroad.

Chen said the amount would be spent on power plants, road networks and building of workshops for manufacturing of goods, adding that the first phase would be completed within two years.

Under the Sino-Nigerian joint venture between three Chinese companies and the Lagos state government, "China will contribute its experience to develop Nigeria's economy," Chen said, adding that "China has signed a US$2.5 million soft loan agreement with Nigeria to help her develop her infrastructure."

Chen also assured Nigerians of standard products from the zone, saying: "the goods that will be produced at the FTZ will be of international standard because the zone will be an international location for manufacturers who would be regulated by the International Standard Organization's (ISO) rules and regulations. "

He said that about 3,000 jobs would be created under the first phase, while it would also facilitate the exportation of locally produced goods from Nigeria to international markets in Europe and America. Chen said the FTZ project would help Chinese people doing businesses in Nigeria to plough back into the Nigerian economy part of profits they made in the country, stressing that investors from Nigeria, China as well as other countries in the world would benefit tremendously from the FTZ.

According to him, the inauguration of the first phase will take place on Thursday, explaining that the 20 Chinese businessmen who had indicated interest in the project were already in Nigeria.

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