‘Why we target Gujungu as Jigawa’s industrial hub’

The Jigawa State Commissioner for Commerce, Salisu Zakari, has explained why the state decided to establish an industrial hub in Gujungu town.

Zakari, who spoke with Chronicle in Kano at the weekend, said the state governor’s aim of transforming the state into an industrial hub was further confirmed by the approval of about N2 billion in the 2020 budget for the establishment of industrial clusters at Gujungu, Taura Local Government Area, which is a central town in the state.

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He said: “There is a power substation there and businessmen have already started establishing rice mills there as well. The government will provide the critical infrastructure and invite investors to take advantage of the peaceful nature of the state.

“If you observe, Kano is filled up and we believe that if you have a kind of industrial hub nearby with the provision of power and other needed infrastructure, people can move there,” he said.

He added that with the good road network already available in the state, the state government also intended to utilise the rail line that passes from Kano through a number of towns in Jigawa and terminates at Nguru in Yobe State.

Zakari said the state would make its requirements very low and flexible, and there would be tax waivers of about five years for any investor who wishes to take advantage of the state’s journey to industrialisation.

He said the governor, being a successful businessman himself, would also support small scale businesses in the state which was also captured in the 2020 budget.