TheCable

Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia state governor, has secured a $1.5bn deal for the establishment of a shoe industry in Aba from Huajian Shoe Industry in Dongguan, Guangzhou, China.

Enyinnaya Appolos, chief press secretary of the governor, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

According to him, Ikpeazu secured the deal at a meeting with Zhang Huarong, group chairman of the Huajian Group in the course of his official visit to China for the 1st Nigeria-China Governors Investment Forum.

Appolos explained that the Abia-Huajian Shoe Industrial City would have the capacity to produce 5,000 shoes per day and employ about 10,000 people directly and indirectly.

“Abia state government will provide the land and other investment incentives for the project while the Huajian group will fund the entire project,” he said.

“Mr Huarong, who noted that Governor Ikpeazu was the 1st Nigerian leader to visit him, disclosed that the Huajian Group was already employing 6,000 staff and is currently developing a 250 Acre Industrial City in Ethiopia and expressed his eagerness to come to Nigeria.

“Huajian Group currently employs about 20,000 staff in China and operates a 10,000 shoes per day factory in Dongguan valued at $2bn.

“Mr Huarong assured the governor that he will visit him in Abia before the end of April 2017 for further discussion on the project‎.”