LADOL, the high value industrial village and free zone, built around a specialised port facility on an island at the point of entry into Lagos harbour, has announced the composition of its pioneer Technical Advisory Board: The Rt Hon Lord Mark Malloch‐Brown KCMG, Professor Fidelis Oditah QC and Mr Tanimu Yakubu.

Thanks to the new USD 300 million Floating Production Offtake and Storage (FPSO) Vessel fabrication and integration facility in LADOL all eyes are now on Nigeria. The successful development of this facility is set to make Nigeria the leading country on the continent for offshore oil and gas fabrication and engineering.

The specific expertise of the advisory board will now provide the additional strategic support the LADOL executive team needs as the Free Zone enters its next phase of development; expanding its ecosystem to offer more advanced technological support and critical services not previously available in West Africa, as well as fostering collaboration with other infrastructure developers, service providers and operators in the region to help drive job creation and economic growth throughout West Africa together.

Dr Amy Jadesimi, LADOL Managing Director, said: “It is a great privilege to have Lord Malloch‐Brown, Professor Fidelis Oditah and Mr Tanimu Yakubu join LADOL’s advisory board. Their combined experience will no doubt be an incredible asset to the Free Zone and help shape its future as one of the world’s leading industrial hubs. Each member offers a unique perspective and understanding of Nigeria and shares our aim of making it the hub for West Africa.”

One of Time Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people in the world’, Lord Malloch-Brown is a former Deputy Secretary-General in the United Nations and has served in the British Cabinet and Foreign Office. Deeply involved in international affairs, he now sits in the House of Lords and is active both in business and in the non‐profit world.

Fidelis Oditah QC is a member of the Queen’s Council since 2003, practicing across the English and Nigeria bars. In Nigeria, Oditah focuses on energy, projects and cases relating to commercial law and has advised and acted for the Federal Government of Nigeria in a number of matters.

Mr Tanimu Yakubu, non-executive director of Oando PLC, has held a number of key positions in both the private and public sectors in Nigeria, the most notable being as Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, during which he also served as a member of the National Economic Management team from 2007 – 2010.

The $500 million LADOL free zone, is a newly developed industrial village, to which access is strictly controlled. The infrastructure in the Zone is amongst the most robust and secure in West Africa, making it an ideal environment for industrial activities that could not be done in West Africa before – from offshore oil and gas mega-fabrication and vessel integration, to pipe coating, engineering and agricultural processing.

Board member biographies can be found here.