China's businessmen in Nigeria have planned to establish an industrial garden in Ibadan, capital of Nigeria's southwestern state of Oyo, the Chinese Industrial and Commercial Enterprises Association (CICEA) in Nigeria said here Sunday.

Qian Guolin, chairman of CICEA, told Xinhua that the industrial garden which covers an area of 80 hectares "will consist of three areas -- industrial area, service area and development land area."

The industrial area, he added, would cover 35 hectares and be divided into different zones producing electro-mechanicals, household electric appliances, hardware, mineral products, IT products, footwear, garments, suitcases and traveling bags, building materials and light fittings.

According to Qian, the development land area which also covers 35 hectares will be prepared for the enlargement of the industrial area. Warehouses for the storage of goods and a bonded warehouse will be located in this area.

"Our plan is to take suitable advantage of modern technology to do what we term 'deep processing' which is the processing from the basic raw materials," Qian said, adding that "due to abundance of animal hide, we will be able to source all the leather needed for the manufacturing of European standard footwear locally."

Currently, China produces up to 70 percent of all footwear imported into the European Union. "These production lines could be set up in Nigeria given the fight incentives and conditions," he added.

According to Qian, the industrial garden will place large emphasis on the development of new products that are best suited for the needs of the African market and people. "Efforts will also be made to improve on the scale and grade of items manufactured," he said, adding "our products will be in sync with the ISO9000 grading system."

Qian said the estimated workforce for the factories in the garden shall run into the thousands and of this "less than 5 percent shall be of Chinese origin."

Nigeria is rich in mineral resources. But due to long-time rule of foreign colony, there is almost no manufacturing industry in the country except petroleum sector.

Source: Xinhua