NEPZA Licenses Harvestfield FTZ to Drive Local Healthcare Manufacturing
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NEPZA Licenses Harvestfield FTZ to Drive Local Healthcare Manufacturing
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has licensed Harvestfield Industries Free Trade Zone, a specialised medical products hub expected to drastically cut Nigeria’s dependence on imported healthcare commodities.
Speaking in Abuja at the presentation of the Declaration of Licence and Operational Licence to the promoters of the zone, NEPZA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, said the initiative would strengthen local production capacity and position Nigeria as a net exporter of medical products.
Ogunyemi described the zone as a strategic intervention targeted at bridging critical gaps in the nation’s health sector.
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“Harvestfield FTZ is strategic and focused on addressing key deficits in the health sector. This opens up a new opportunity for the country to become an exporter of health products,” he said.
He urged investors in pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to leverage the incentives embedded in Nigeria’s free trade zones to scale up production, reduce import dependence and enhance competitiveness in regional and global markets.
The NEPZA boss reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to facilitating trade and investment in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to transform Nigeria into an export-driven economy.
In his remarks, Dr. Abdu Mukthar, Presidential and Ministry of Health Representative, said the Harvestfield FTZ stemmed from the Presidential Executive Order on Local Manufacturing of Healthcare Products signed in 2024 by President Tinubu.
Mukthar, who also serves as the National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative to Unlock Healthcare Value Chains (PVAC), disclosed that Danish conglomerate Vestergaard—the world’s largest manufacturer of insecticide-treated nets—had partnered with Nigerian firm Harvestfield through a joint venture, SNG Health, to establish the facility.
According to him, the partners have invested 30 million dollars in the project, with additional funding from other stakeholders.
The facility, to be located in Ogun State, is expected to produce 10 million dual-insecticide treated nets annually and create an estimated 600 direct jobs.
Mukthar said production is scheduled to commence in April 2026, with the first phase projected to meet about 30 per cent of Nigeria’s insecticide-treated net demand.
He underscored the urgency of boosting local production, noting that Nigeria accounts for 27 per cent of the global malaria burden and about 30 per cent of malaria-related deaths worldwide.
