The Lagos State government and the Chinese car manufacturing company, CIG, last week marked the completion of assembling the first 2000 vehicles in the Ogba area of Lagos.
The assembling plant is the first to be built in Lagos by a Chinese company in partnership with the state government.
Lagos plans to make the state industrial hub. While inspecting the plant, governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commended the motor manufacturing company for its bold decision to open an assembling plant in Lagos.
He said the development would create more jobs in the state and Nigeria. He described the assemblage of 2000 vehicles in the plant as a remarkable milestone and a reflection of the promising synergy between international partnerships and local talent.
The governor said the state is open to more investments that would create jobs, skills development, wealth creation, entrepreneurial opportunities, and reduce unemployment. Sanwo-Olu further said it would make Lagos a hub of industrialisation and innovation.
He also promised more infrastructure would be provided to attract more investors to the state. The chairman of CIG Motors, Daina Chen, said the journey into establishing the plant began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when the company and the state signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to partner in establishing an assembling plant. She added that the plant could assemble over 50,000 vehicles. She further said the company would increase its production to 5000.
Nigeria is among the top African countries with vehicle manufacturing and assembly plants, with Innoson Motors and Dangote Sinotruck, among others. In July, the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) bought locally-made electric vehicles with their charging infrastructure from Nigerian technology firm, Jet Motors.
The move was part of plans to reduce carbon emissions and assemble efficient cars after the fuel subsidy regime. The Chairman of GIG Group, Chidi Ajaere, founded Jet Motors in 2018. Jet Motors said in a statement to mark the occasion of the delivery of the electric vehicles to NADDC that it had a great sense of fulfilment that the government was looking its way as it looks for alternative options in keeping with new realities.
It was reported that at the handover of the vehicles, NADDC commended Jet Motors for its innovation toward building a sustained pipeline of clean mobility for the Nigerian market and beyond.
