| Gov. Mbah. |
Governor of Enugu of State, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Monday
toured the Sapphire Ceramics Company at Obinofia Ndiuno, Ezeagu LGA, Enugu
State, where he pledged to sustain the improved ease of doing business in the
state under his leadership.
Mbah said the successes recorded by the company were
testimonies to the state’s improved business environment and a further
assurance that his administration’s vision to grow the state’s economy from
$4.4 to $30 was realisable, calling on both local and foreign investors to take
advantage of this and the abundance of mineral
resources in the state.
“Frankly, this is exactly what we had in mind when we
made the announcement that we were going to grow our economy exponentially.
What we have planned is to see how we will have a government-enabled platform,
but private sector-driven growth; and that is essentially what we have come
here today to witness.
“So, having such a humongous industry, a factory that is
producing 75,000 square meters of tiles everyday and also has over 800
employees is good for our economy. And essentially, stories like this assure us
of the fact that our projection of growing this economy to $30 billion is
realisable.
“We are very happy that we are able to provide this
platform for Sapphire Ceramics to grow. Our job is to ensure that we continue
to put policies in place to expand their operations to a scale where they will
employ more people and reduce our burden as a state government.
“We know that private sector investment won’t happen by a
chance occurrence, but through painstaking and well-crafted policies to attract
investors. So, we are mindful of all the key indicators of the ease of doing
business – infrastructure, security, efficient legal and regulatory framework,
among others.
“Again, I want to let investors know that the slogan
‘Enugu is open for business’ or ‘Enugu
is ready for business’ is not just mere posturing. We mean it. We are
determined. We are not just going to provide the environment to do business, we
are also going to help you de-risk your investment so that, indeed, Enugu will
be that premier destination for investment,” the governor stated.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of the Sapphire
Ceramics, Mr. Wang Chengfang, commended the Governor Mbah Administration for
rolling out policies, programmes, and development projects that support
business growth and guarantee return on investment.
He said, “We are honoured to choose to invest and set up
a factory in Enugu State. In today’s complex global economic environment, we
have been working with the state government to contribute to the state’s
economic development.
“Despite the current situation of unstable Naira exchange
rate and increasing competitive
pressure, we have always adhered to our original intention and worked hard to
improve the quality of our products so that the company can gain greater
development advantages in a difficult environment.
“At present, our company has increased from the initial
300 local workers to nearly 800 workers. In the future, we will try our best to
develop and broaden investment directions to create more jobs for Enugu State.”
Chengfang urged potential investors to look in the
direction of Enugu State for their investments.
“As we all know, Enugu State is rich in mineral
resources. Our company has chosen to invest and base itself in Enugu State. It
also has a huge demand for mineral resources in terms of production.
“We have always hoped to fully cooperate with the state
government to strive to develop and make good use of the state’s rich mineral
resources, and contribute to the state’s economic development.
“At the same time, the development of our enterprise
cannot be separated from the full support of the state government. The state
government has provided a very good business environment for our
development.”
He said Sapphire Ceramics would be joining the Mbah
Administration in its investment promotion effort and called on “more Chinese companies to invest in Enugu
State and contribute to the ‘New Enugu City’ development plan.”