ARISE IIP investing in Malawi Special Economic Zone and Dry Port Construction
ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP), owned by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Afreximbank and Africa Transformation and Industrialization Fund (ATIF), the developer and operator of world-class industrial ecosystems across Africa, is proud to announce the signing of a development agreement with the Government of Malawi for the construction of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and a dry port in the North of Lilongwe, Area 55 in Malawi.
This agreement, in line with ARISE IIP’s ambition to unlock Africa’s industrial potential, will support the Government of Malawi in advancing the country’s long term vision of becoming an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant industrialised upper-middle income country by 2063.
With an investment of approximately USD 150 million in infrastructure development and in partnership with Afreximbank, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the dry port will be located north of Lilongwe, in the designated Area 55 in Malawi. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will aim to stimulate and attract multi-sector investments, both industrial and commercial, in the country and offers logistic services and inland container depot services to enterprises in Malawi. It will seek to promote the local processing of raw materials into high value-added finished products, with an emphasis on agricultural products and inputs. Arise IIP will oversee the majority of the project, holding a 65% stake, while the remaining 35% will be shared by the Malawian government and local investors.
Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2024 with the zone expected to become operational from 2026. The project is set to create approximately a minimum of 132,000 direct jobs and over 26,000 indirect jobs.
Gagan Gupta, Founder and CEO of ARISE IIP, commented: “It is a great honour to partner with the Government of Malawi for the establishment of an Integrated Industrial Platform and a dry port in the country. Leveraging our experience as developers and operators of industrial ecosystems across the African continent, we are committed to supporting the Malawian Government’s initiatives for national development.”
Honourable Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, MP, Minister of Trade and Industry of Malawi, said: “This collaboration with Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP) represents a significant opportunity to boost trade, investment, and job creation in the country. Given Arise IIP’s proven success in developing major projects across Africa, we look forward to seeing the positive impact of our joint efforts.”
For the past few years, ARISE IIP has experienced a remarkable expansion across Africa, with 12 integrated industrial zones accelerating the continent’s industrialisation. For reference, in Benin, ARISE IIP manages the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone dedicated to the local processing of agricultural raw materials such as cotton, cashew nuts, pineapples, shea nuts, soya, etc. with the aim of creating flourishing value chains ranging from the supply of raw materials to the processing of resources and the export of finished products.
The industrial zone is expected to create more than 300,000 direct jobs by 2030. Across the continent, ARISE IIP’s primary drive has always been the creation of industrial ecosystems committed to generating high local added value along with sustainable growth.
