China-Nigeria deal to open drug factory

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the governments of China and Nigeria, to build a drug manufacturing facility in the southwestern Nigerian state of Osun, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Zai Zhuangmiao, representing the provincial government of Sichuan, China, told assembled reporters that the project would cost $50.0 million and would be completed in June next year. The factory is intended to produce antimalarial drugs.

Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola told the Chinese state news agency that the project was "a major breakthrough for the Osun government in its bid to attract foreign investment to the state." He confirmed that land, in a designated free-trade zone, had been made available by the local authorities for the intended drug factory site.