Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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5.6 Case Study 5: Lekki Free Zone, Nigeria
5.6.1 Overview and Description
The Lekki Free Zone (LFZ) was designated a Fee Zone in 2008. It is situated in the east of the
commercial hub of Nigeria, Lagos.
The LFZ is part of the overall multi-use development plan for a new city on the Lekki peninsula,
which includes residential, commercial, industrial, logistics and recreational development as
well as a new airport and deep water port.
Each parcel of land in the LFZ is allocated to a developer, after they have been awarded a license
to do so. There is a mix of private developers and joint venture or partnership agreements
involving government organisations. One such joint venture is for the development of the
Southwest Quadrant.
This was initiated by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC) in 2003. CCECC
had been operating in Nigeria for over a decade by then and therefore had time to formulate a
strategy to help develop a new Fee Zone. In March 2006, a Chinese consortium, CCECCBeiya
(“Beyond”) was set up in Beijing, followed two months later (May 2006) by the establishment of
a partnership between that consortium and the Nigerian government to establish the Lekki Free
Zone Development Company (LFZDC). In November 2007, the Lekki zone won support in the
second Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) tender.
The Lekki Free Trade Zone has thus far shown good progress in being an example of cooperation
between different levels of government (federal, state and municipal), as well as international
cooperation, with a large part of the zone being a Chinese-African joint venture.
Figure 36 – Lekki Free Zone
Source: Guardian (2017) Lekki Free Zone. Available from:
free-zone/