Lagos slumps as travel to Africa displays double-digit growth

During the coming five months, August – December 2017, there will be 16% fewer airline seats on domestic routes and 9% fewer and on international routes to and from Lagos

Lagos Nigeria, August 15, 2017/ — An analysis of seat capacity for travel to the top ten international airports in Africa, produced by ForwardKeys, reveals that Lagos is seeing substantial declines in both domestic and international capacity, mainly because Arik Air is cutting 53% of its seats for the rest of 2017. During the coming five months, August – December 2017, there will be 16% fewer airline seats on domestic routes and 9% fewer and on international routes to and from Lagos.

Commenting on this data, Jon Howell, Managing Director of AviaDev, Africa's leading airline route development conference, said: "One of the major reasons for falling arrivals by air to Nigeria, is the fact that many airlines could not repatriate funds after the currency crisis in 2016. As a result, Iberia and United Airlines have ceased operations to Nigeria, whilst Emirates and the other foreign carriers have scaled back services. The Nigerian airlines have suffered too and so this void has been filled by the ever-opportunistic Ethiopian Airlines, who began serving their fifth Nigerian destination, Kaduna on 1st August 2017 and are now the largest carrier in the Nigerian market."

Most of the other airports in Africa's top ten are seeing a healthy growth in capacity, which is more international than it is domestic. However, the most notable exception to this trend is Nairobi, which is seeing a 22% boost in domestic capacity.

Access 'Scheduled capacity to Top 10 airports in Africa, August to December 2017' infographic here (http://APO.af/iM3q8p).

These findings are part of a wider report on travel to Africa, produced by ForwardKeys, which predicts future travel patterns by analysing 17 million booking transactions a day. It shows double digit growth in flight arrivals for the first half of this year and little indication that the pace of growth will slow down soon. The wider report will make encouraging reading for airlines, governments and hoteliers planning to discuss possible new aviation routes at AviaDev in Kigali in October. (AviaDev is organised by Bench Global Business Events.)

The report reveals that in the first seven months of the year, 1st Jan – 31st July 2017, total international flight arrivals grew by 14.0% over the same period in 2016. Most significantly, growth was stronger for travel to and from the continent than within the continent. Arrivals from Europe, which make up 46% of the market, were up 13.2%. From the Americas, arrivals were up 17.6%; from the Middle East, they were up 14.0% and from Asia Pacific, they were up 18.4%. By comparison, intra-African air travel, which makes up 26% of the market, was up 12.6%.

Accesss 'International arrivals in Africa by origin regions, January to July 2017' infographic here (http://APO.af/5ucgPw).

Looking at Africa's top ten destination countries, there have been stand-out performances from Tunisia and Egypt, which are recovering from notorious terrorist attacks two years ago, up 33.5% and 24.8% respectively. In addition, Morocco and Tunisia received a huge boost in arrivals from China, up 450% and 250% respectively, after they relaxed visa restrictions. The one disappointment is Nigeria, which has seen a 0.8% drop, in the wake of recession in 2016, caused by a collapse in the oil price to a 13-year low.

Access 'International arrivals in Africa, Top 10 destination countries, January to July 2017' infographic here (http://APO.af/AxXyA3).

Looking forward to the end of the calendar year, bookings for flights to Africa are currently 16.8% ahead of where they were on July 31st, 2016. Bookings from Europe are currently 17.5% ahead, from the Americas 26.6% ahead, from Asia Pacific 11.5% ahead, from the Middle East 8.2% ahead and bookings for intra-African air travel are 11.0% ahead.

Access 'International arrivals in Africa on the book by origin regions, August to December 2017' infographic here (http://APO.af/uatCi2).

A specific look at East Africa shows very similar trends in year to date performance and outlook to the end of the year. However, it has stronger forward bookings from Europe, 22.9% ahead and less strong forward bookings from elsewhere; the Americas are 15.5% ahead and intra-African air travel 7.6% ahead. However, bookings from the Middle East and Asia Pacific are 6.0% and 3.8% behind respectively.

Access 'International arrivals in EAC on the book by origin regions, August to December 2017' infographic here (http://APO.af/mTRWds).

On an individual airport level, the most significant capacity increase in East Africa is at Kigali, with new routes to Brussels, London and Mumbai. Other notable new capacity includes Kilimanjaro to Dubai and Nairobi to Muscat and to Yemen.

Access 'Scheduled capacity to EAC main airports, August to December 2017' infographic here (http://APO.af/mVZpPs).

Olivier Jager, CEO, ForwardKeys, said: "The growth in air travel to Africa is impressive. However, it is notable that consumer demand and airline investment is greater in travel to African countries from outside the continent than it is between African countries."

Jon Howell, Aviation and Tourism Development Manager, Bench Events (www.BenchEvents.com), who is responsible for AviaDev, concluded: "As an international executive who has travelled around Africa for many years, I am longing for the day when it is easier to fly directly between African cities, as is possible on other continents. I am sure I'm not alone in that desire and I'm equally sure, it will happen eventually. That's why I'm determined that the discussions that will take place at AviaDev will help bring that vision closer."

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Source: Lagos slumps as travel to Africa displays double-digit growth

Spanish Holiday Beaches Becoming Destination Point For North African Migrants (Video)

Clip of Spanish Beachgoers Watching as an African Migrant Boat Lands in Cadiz, Spain

Spanish Holiday Beaches Becoming Destination Point For North African Migrants (Video) Amazing moment boat carrying dozens of African migrants arrives on Spanish beach in front of shocked tourists and scatter before police arrive

Clip shows a inflatable boat coming ashore in Cadiz, on southern Spanish coast

Group managed to escape from the beach before police arrived at the scene

It is believed migrants crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Northern Africa

Were you on the beach? Email sara.malm@mailonline.co.uk  

By Alex Matthews and Sara Malm for MailOnline

A boat carrying dozens of African migrants landed on a Spanish beach in front of shocked holiday-makers.

Footage shows the migrants leaping out of a black inflatable dinghy and dashing across the sand on beaches at Cadiz in southern Spain, after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

The group managed to leave from the beach before the authorities arrived some time after.

One onlooker asks in an astonished voice, 'What's going on?'

Carlos Sanz, who shot the video while on vacation in Cadiz, said the group quickly vanished and police only arrived some time later.

Spanish officials couldn't immediately be reached after office hours.

The incident comes as the International Organization for Migration warned on Thursday that Spain could overtake Greece this year in the number of migrants arriving by sea, using boats and even jet-skis.

According to the IOM's latest figures, until August 6, close to 8,200 migrants had arrived in Spain so far this year.

That is more than triple the number who reached Spain at the same time last year, according to Joel Millman, a senior IOM spokesman, and already more than the total arrivals in 2016.

New arrivals: A video filmed by a witness show the dinghy pulling into shallow water at Cadiz

Embarking: Some two dozen people, reportedly African migrants, jump off the boat and run onto the beach in front of surprised sunbathers and tourists

While the figure pales in comparison with arrivals in Italy – where more than 96,400 have landed so far this year – Spain is catching up with Greece where 11,713 have arrived by sea in the same timeframe.

'It's possible that Spain will outperform Greece this year,' Millman told AFP.

'If so, that's a big change.'

He said many people taking the long route towards Italy via the Sahara and Libya were from west Africa.

But with the dangers faced, some may be deciding to go up along the coast instead.

'We assume that some of the change is due to the fact that the route is considered a safe route up to the coast through Morocco,' Millman said.

He added that the boats crossing the short but choppy sea to Spain were much smaller than those launching from Libya to Italy.

In Libya there 'appears to be a very deliberate strategy to put people out there, in overloaded boats that begin to take on water almost immediately and then it's a race to see how quickly the people on the boat can summon aid,' he said.

'Whereas in Spain, the strategy is smaller craft hoping to come in undetected, and undoubtedly some do.'

Unexpected: The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon, with the migrants reportedly leaving the beach before Spanish authorities arrived

The boat came ashore in Cadiz, however it is not known from where the group had travelled

Disembarkations by migrants on Spanish beaches are not common but have happened before, especially at Spain's north African enclave cities Melilla and Ceuta, which border Morocco.

Ceuta and Melilla have the EU's only land borders with Africa, and as a result, they are entry points for people desperate to get to Europe.

Migrants regularly try to climb the high double border fences, swim along the coast or hide in vehicles crossing the frontier.

In recent days, migrants have repeatedly stormed the border with Ceuta by either attempting to cut through the wire fencing or running through the border post.

Once on Spanish soil in Ceuta, they are taken to migrant reception centres where they can apply for asylum.

But many are desperate to get to mainland Spain, believing that the process in Ceuta is slow or fearing that they will be returned to neighbouring Morocco, and try to hide in lorries boarding ferries.

On Tuesday, Spanish police found 30 Moroccan and Algerian migrants, ten of them minors, hidden in fairground vehicles in the enclave city.

The group had hidden in bumper cars and the ghost train loaded on lorries which were due to leave Ceuta for mainland Spain a after an annual festival.

Agents used heartbeat detectors and dogs to locate the migrants while the vehicles waited to board ferries to the mainland, the Guardia Civil police force said.

'They try to use attractions that are only half covered up to jump in and hide inside,' a spokesman said.

Spanish police push back 700 migrants as they attempt to storm a 20-foot border fence in Ceuta

Hundreds of migrants have attempted to storm the border between Spain's North African Ceuta territory and Morocco.

The Interior Ministry's office in the small enclave said the migrants tried to scale the 20-foot high barbed-wire fences around Ceuta after a crossing attempt at the Tarajal post failed.

All of the migrants – about 700 – were repelled by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities.

Spain and Morocco agreed yesterday to close the Tarajal post to freight traffic for a week because of recent migrant crossing attempts.

More than 180 migrants also stormed the border on Monday. Over 700 were repelled today

Footage showed migrants from Africa sprinting over the border from the Moroccan side while it was still dark on Monday

Pedestrian and passenger vehicles were still allowed.

Every year, thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco try to scale the border fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave, in a bid to enter Europe.

On January 1 more than 1,000 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa tried to scale the fence at Ceuta during a violent assault in which one officer lost an eye.

At about 5am on Monday, 186 migrants stormed the border and reached European Union soil.

Once there, they celebrated, raising their hands in joy as they ran through the streets – with one man kneeling on the floor.

The migrants were eventually rounded up and taken to a reception centre, where they can apply for asylum in Spain.

Pictured: Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta. Hundreds of migrants attempted to storm the border today

___http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4777084/Boat-carrying-African-migrants-arrives-Spanish-beach.html

Source: Spanish Holiday Beaches Becoming Destination Point For North African Migrants (Video)

Survey ranks City of Angels as world's best-value long-haul destination

LEAD-IN: Foreign tourists take pictures as they visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok in this June 2, 2013 file photo. Thailand's economy expanded for the first time in three quarters in July-September but at a slower pace than expected, suggesting the central bank will keep rates low to support growth in the face of still-weak domestic demand. The government said on November 18, 2013 that third-quarter growth was driven by strong gains in tourism.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was pleased with an international tourism survey that ranked Bangkok as the world's best-value long-haul city break in 2017.

He was impressed after being briefed that visitors can spend the longest holidays with the cheapest budget in Thailand's capital.

The survey conducted by Post Office Travel Money was published on the websites of British newspapers, including the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph, on Aug 5. It reported visitors to Bangkok can spend the lowest budget on qualified services for accommodation, food, transport and tourist attractions compared with cities in other countries. The average total expenses for three days in Bangkok were about £317 (13,700 baht), the survey said.

Bangkok was also lauded as a vibrant city with attractive activities and culture as well as various sightseeing sites, particularly temples and palaces.

Gen Prayut said the survey was in accordance with the government's policy to encourage foreigners to extend their stay and spend more money in the country in order to boost the economy.

To enhance Thailand's tourism, several measures to promote tourism have also been devised, including exemption of visa fees, extension of stays for long-stay foreigners, providing convenience for foreign visitors and crackdowns on tourism scams such as zero-dollar tours. The prime minister also focused on issues relating to tourism and insisted problems must be solved.

For example, he ordered authorities to urgently find a solution after many tourists were forced to endure long waits at immigration checkpoints due to insufficient officers recently.

The problem was later solved and received compliments from the public, Gen Prayut said.

The survey analysed the cost of 11 items: a cup of coffee (regular filter) at a cafe/bar; bottle of beer/lager (330ml local brand) at a cafe/bar; Coca-Cola/Pepsi (330ml bottle/can) at a cafe/bar; glass of wine (175ml house) at a cafe/bar; three-course evening meal for two with a bottle of house wine; return bus or train transfer from airport to city centre; sightseeing on a city bus/boat tour; top tourist heritage attraction; top museum; top art gallery; and three nights' four-star accommodation (weekend) for two adults.

Besides Bangkok, other cities ranked among the world's best-value long-haul city breaks were Tokyo, Japan (£331); Beijing, China (£337); Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (£361); Cape Town, South Africa; Singapore; Washington DC, the US; Toronto, Canada; New York and Boston, both in the US, with costs of £711 and £823 respectively.

Get full Bangkok Post printed newspaper experience on your digital devices with Bangkok Post e-newspaper. Try it out, it's totally free for 7 days.

Source: Survey ranks City of Angels as world's best-value long-haul destination

Focus: Destination Australia

In an effort to highlight places of interest in countries across the world, their varied culture, economy and history, The Statesman brings to you a Weekly Focus on countries with which India shares diplomatic ties and friendship. This week's focus is on Australia.

Know all about the country.

Capital: Canberra, Currency: Australian dollar, Language: English 76.8 per cent, Mandarin 1.6, Italian 1.4, Arabic 1.3, Greek 1.2, Cantonese 1.2, Vietnamese 1.1, others 10.4 and unspecified 5. (2011 est.), Religion: Protestant 30.1 per cent , Catholic 25.3, other Christian 2.9, Orthodox 2.8, Buddhist 2.5, Muslim 2.2, Hindu 1.3, other 1.3, none 22.3.

CLIMATE

Australia is in the southern hemisphere and the seasons are opposite to those in Europe and North America. There are two climatic zones: the tropical zone (in the north above the Tropic of Capricorn) and the temperate zone. The tropical zone (consisting of 40 per cent of Australia) has two seasons ~ summer and winter ~ while the temperate zone has all four seasons. Spring to summer (October to March) is hot everywhere, tropical in the north, and warm to hot with mild nights in the south.

Autumn to winter (April to September) in northern and central Australia have clear warm days and cool nights, the south has cool days with occasional rain but still plenty of sun. Snow is totally confined to mountainous regions of the southeast.

VISA ON ARRIVAL

For tourist visa, applicants have to submit notarised copy of all pages of current passport, certified copies of birth showing the names of both parents, one photograph, application forms. If visiting relatives, a letter of invitation from a relative in Australia, itinerary giving travel details, accommodation and activities within Australia, copies of bank statements (personal and business) over a period of time showing a consistent savings history, copies of documents which show any other funds or assets held and IT returns of last three years are needed. Visitor visas can allow for single or multiple entry and permit a stay of three, six or 12 months in Australia on each occasion. A three-month stay with a multiple entry facility valid fot one year meets the requirements of most visitors to Australia.

Trade

Australia's trade in goods and services with India was $9.72 billion in 2014-15 with Indian exports of goods amounting to $2.726 billion. Australia's exports of goods to India were $6.994 billion. Australia is placed at 33rd position in India's export destinations and 18th among import sources.

India's main exports to Australia are passenger motor vehicles and machinery, pearls, gems and jewellery and refined petroleum while our major imports are vegetables, wool, non-monetary gold, coal, copper and fertilizers. Civil Nuclear Co-Operation Agreement between the two countries was signed in 2014. An Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) has been set up for research in agriculture, science and technology.

Bush tucker and barbecues

Seafood is an integral part of the cuisine. 'Bush tucker' from Australia's endemic flora and fauna can be delicious; kangaroo meat in particular is growing in popularity. For all the advent of fine dining, however, the humble barbecue remains a quintessential Australian food experience. Steak, prawns and beer tend to feature prominently. Some of the specialities are Sydney rock oysters, moreton bay bugs, kangaroo and meat pie. Apples, mangoes and pumpkins are grown in large quantities. Australian wines have earned international acclaim like craft beer and sparkling wine. Wines in regions like the Barossa Valley in South Australia and Margaret river in Western Australia are world class.

Indian immigrants thrive

There is a rapidly growing Indian community of nearly 4.5 lakh Indians in Australia, which is contributing significantly to the Australian economy as teachers, doctors, accountants, engineers and IT engineers. India is now the third largest source of immigrants to Australia and the second largest source of skilled professionals.

In addition, there are a sizeable number of people of Indian origin from countries such as Fiji, Malaysia, Kenya and South Africa. (Feb 2016)

Flying Down Under

Direct flights to the Land Down Under with Air India from Delhi takes around 12 hours. Airlines like Jet Airways, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways operate frequent flights to various cities in Australia from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. For major Australian cities, layover airports are at Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Join the celebrations

Probably the most significant national secular celebration is Anzac Day on 25 April. This is a public holiday that commemorates the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landing at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915. However, the event now encompasses participants in all wars in which Australia has been involved. Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January to commemorate British settlement and many capital cities host a fireworks event. Labour Day is a public holiday. A significant celebration occurs on Melbourne Cup Day, an annual horse-racing event in Melbourne. Some states have wine festivals.

WIDE OPEN SPACES

Sydney Opera House

Shaped like huge shells or billowing sails, this breathtaking building on Sydney's Bennelong Point graces the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites and is one of the world's great architectural icons. Water surrounds the structure on three sides and the Royal Botanic Gardens border it to the south.

It encompasses theatres, studios, a concert hall, exhibition rooms and a cinema.

Great Barrier Reef

Visible from outer space, the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures on the planet. One of the seven wonders of the natural world, the park stretches for 2,300 km along the state of Queensland. Diving and snorkeling are spectacular.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Deep in the heart of the Australia's Red Centre, Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock) is one of the most photographed natural wonders in the country. The striking red monolith forms the centrepiece of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Melbourne (Australia's second largest city)

Highlights of the city include the Royal Botanic Gardens, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. To the east, greater Melbourne extends into the beautiful Dandenong Ranges and in the south to the Mornington Peninsula where many locals escape for seaside getaways. Other tourist destinations are Sydney Harbour Bridge, Blue Mountains National Park (Unesco World Heritage Site), Bondi beach, Daintree National Park (among the most ancient ecosystems on earth), Fraser Island (largest sand island in the world and one of Australia's most unique four-wheel-drive adventures), Kakadu National Park (largest national park in Australia and the second largest in the world.

Source: Focus: Destination Australia

South Africa exports less avocados

Avocados continue to demand high prices around the globe, which is great news for South African growers in another season of good prices to date. Europe is the major destination for South Africa's avocados, but as the black middle class continues to grow at home the domestic market is becoming more attractive.

It is unlikely that the domestic market will ever match the export volumes, but it is growing at a good rate as consumers become more aware of the benefits of eating healthily. They are being supplied with more than just second class green varieties as the retailers now have increasing volumes of dark skinned avocados on the shelves.

"Prices are good on the domestic market and demand is increasing," according to Derek Donkin, CEO of SA Avocado Growers. "Export volumes will be 11.5 million cartons this season, that is down 1 million on our initial estimate. There are a few reasons for this: the drought had more effect than we had expected and it was also an off year. This, combined with local demand has reduced the export volumes."

There are still significant amounts of avocado trees being planted in South Africa, a staggering 1000 ha per year, when you consider that at the moment there is 16,500 ha planted that will mean a huge increase in volumes over the next few years. South Africa is not the only country making huge expansions in plantings; Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Israel and others are also making significant investments in this fruit.

But looking at the continuing growth in demand in markets around the globe it should be sustainable according to Derek, "China and the US have very strong growth and although South Africa has no access as yet it should come in the future. The annual growth in the US is bigger than our total annual exports."

For more information:Derek DonkinSouth African Subtropical Growers AssociationTel: +27 15 307 3676Email: derek@subtrop.co.zawww.subtrop.co.za

Publication date: 8/10/2017Author: Nichola WatsonCopyright: www.freshplaza.com

Source: South Africa exports less avocados

Destinations: A visit to Pachmarhi in 1983

The lilting tunes played by the massed bands on Vijay Chowk at New Delhi every year as part of the Beating the Retreat ceremony during the Republic Day celebrations have deep and, shall we say, enduring connection with Pachmarhi.

All the players are from the military band school of the Army Education Corps (AEC) located at Pachmarhi. Not only does the school effortlessly make vibrant as well as sombre music, it also impeccably trains its pupils for the demands of various formal and non-formal occasions. Its fame has spread far and wide. It has its alumni spread over several countries of South, South-East Asia and some of even Africa. It has also helped the Indian Army get into the Guinness Book of Records by organising a performance by a massed band of as many as 4,459 musicians forming the largest military band ever under one conductor when they played "Amazing Grace" some years ago.

Pachmarhi, in Madhya Pradesh, is though known for this school, but it is still better known as the only hill station of the Central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh and a tourist place. It is situated on the Satpura mountain range at an elevation of around 3000 ft. The mountain range rises somewhere in Gujarat and stretches across Madhya Pradesh only to dissipate into the plateaus of Chhota Nagpur in the east. It runs parallel to Vindhya mountains creating a basin in which flows the mighty river Narmada which originates from its forests in the east and runs westwards to empty into the Gulf of Khambat.

Most of the Satpura mountains were at one time heavily forested and were very rich in wildlife, more so towards the east around the place of origin of Narmada. The range, therefore, hosts a number of wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves. Pachmarhi is perched on and around the highest point of Satpuras supporting a climate that is by and large equable, though with progressive deforestation and general warming of the global temperatures in summers sometimes manage to compete with those at lower elevations.

Discovered sometime in the mid-nineteenth century by the British, like numerous other hill towns it started off as a place for physical rehabilitation for the East India Company workers/soldiers. As had happened elsewhere, it too started off as a sanatorium town for the army. Even today Pachmarhi has a well-maintained cantonment to which was added the Military Band School in 1950 at the instance of the first Field Marshall of India, General KM Cariappa.

Named after "five caves", ie "Paanch marhi", the place is associated with several legends, including from the epic Mahabarata. The forests around the place, however, are highly regarded as they have numerous rare species of plants and plenty of wildlife. UNESCO, therefore, declared it as a Biosphere Reserve covering around 5000 square kilometers. The Biosphere Reserve comprises as many as three conservational nature parks, viz. Bori Sanctuary, the oldest wildlife sanctuary of India, Pachmarhi Sanctuary and Satpura National Park.

The town is small and has remained so over the decades. There are some old churches, a few temples in the neighbourhood and several sites like natural water falls, deep valleys thick with vegetation and rugged rocky outcrops. Many of the sites are difficult to take for people advanced in age but, I should think, it is a trekkers' paradise. They can trek and explore the Satpuras around the town and visit the places hallowed by legends.

Others can enjoy a retreat in pleasantly hospitable climate in lodges and hotels that are modestly priced catering especially to middle-class pockets.

Source: Destinations: A visit to Pachmarhi in 1983

Nigeria, Best Economic Destination in Africa - Osinbajo

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said that any investor desirous of making a fortune on his investment in Africa will always consider Nigeria as the best economic destination on the continent.

The Acting President also disclosed that there was massive payment assurance scheme of over N701 billion the Federal Government was infusing into the power value chain to free up the chain.

"I like the idea of investors knowing that the reason you are coming to Nigeria is not to help Nigeria.You will ultimately end up helping Nigeria, but the reason you are coming here is the fact that this is a good place to do business," he said.

Speaking at the Nigerian Initiative for Economic Development, NIED, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, the Acting President said the country would be hosting the largest private sector investment of single line refinery in the world that will be producing 650,000 barrels of oil every day as well as the largest single line fertilizer plant in the world that will all be ready by the end of 2018 and early 2019.

He said: "So, really, Nigeria is a place that is waiting to happen and it will happen. That's really the point. It will happen. The truth of the matter is that any country that opens itself to free enterprise, the way Nigeria is opening itself to free enterprise, will somehow find that it will work.

"That is one of the critical things that we are bringing into the mix. We are insisting that the only way that this country can make the profit that it needs to make is by private sector investment, beginning with local investment.

"That's why we are working so hard on making the investment climate profitable and easy for those who are doing business already.

"We believe that those who are doing business already will invariably bring in those who want to do business from outside the country, foreign investment etcetera."

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"But we think that it must be private sector driven. Our budget is N7trillion this year. Now, N7trillion is a small amount of money. I am not adding the budget of the states because if you add that it comes to something close to N20trillion. But just looking at the federal budget it is just N7trillion.

"But we have private sector investments that challenge that size. For example, the largest single line refinery in the world is a private sector investment and it's going to be doing 650,000 barrels of oil every day.

"That refinery is purely private sector driven. Also, the largest single line fertilizer plant in the world is being set up here. All of these will be ready by the end of 2018, some early 2019. They are huge private sector investments that completely belie the size of the federal budget and belie everything else.

"So, really what we intend to do is to push private sector and that's why we are doing everything that we are doing to ensure that the private sector can come in and invest. Look at the power sector for example; the power sector is almost completely privatized.

"But we have had difficulties because of tariffs, for example. Many times you look at our power sector, we have an installed capacity of about 12,000 megawatts today but we are only able to put on the grid under 5,000, a little above 4,000 megawatts. But we know that the potential is way beyond that maybe four or five times that.

"But what do we do to ensure that we realize that potential? What we need to do is to make this profitable for the private sector. So, we are working on the whole value chain. We are trying to free up that value chain, beginning with working on tariffs, and then, looking at the how, at the moment we have problem of liquidity in the value chain and we are addressing that.

"There is a massive payment assurance scheme of over N701 billion that we are infusing into the power value chain to free up that value chain. Once we are able to do that and we address the issue of tariffs we open it up again. And then people can come in and the big investors can come in and invest in power.

"This is a country of 180 million people and in another 10 years' time we are probably going to be the sixth or seventh largest country in the world. There is no way we are not going to need power, whether it is off-grid power or on-grid power. Power is required by everyone where we have a major power deficit. So, we are going to open up that power sector and anyone who invests in power sector will definitely make money. No question. It is going to be much bigger and better than even the Tele-cos."

Continuing, he said, "My friend is from Rwanda. Rwanda is a very lovely country and Paul Kagame is an incredible individual doing really good things in that country and I believe that the country will do great things. But compare Rwanda to Nigeria in terms of just the size of the economy. We have 36 states in Nigeria. Lagos alone which is the commercial nerve centre is six times the economy of Rwanda.

"So, really when you compare some of these things people say Oh! I want to go to there; I want to go here... Yaah! It's okay. But the truth of the matter is that if you are really serious about investing in Africa, this is where you have to come to. This is absolutely where you must come to. There is no other place.

"So, I really want to say that we are very excited about the partnership that we are building with Nigerian Initiative for Economic Development NIED. And we really want to make this work and that's why we brought all of our people to make these presentations and we will be meeting with you later on in the day.

"Just as Industry, Trade and Investment Minister has said, we are here and we want to make sure that we are interacting with you on a regular basis. As he said, it is not a sprint, it is a marathon.

"So, we have to keep at this. We should not lose focus. I like the idea of investors knowing that the reason why you are coming to Nigeria is not to help Nigeria. You will ultimately end up helping Nigeria, but the reason why you are coming here is because this is a good place to do business.

"And that is the only thing that should interest us and focus our minds. Ultimately, we will help our country, but first and foremost, this is a very, very good place to do business and it is going to be a profitable place--and very profitable for all of us."

Source: Nigeria, Best Economic Destination in Africa - Osinbajo