1.         Background
Tinapa Free Zone and Resort (TFZR or the Zone) has been accorded a Free Zone (FZ) status by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), in accordance with the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act No 63 of 1992 (NEPZ Act). The FZ status will allow Tinapa operate like an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) with the following additional benefits:

• Duty-free importation of raw materials and export of finished products. Consumer and capital goods can also be imported duty-free, traded within and exported from the zone; and
• Up to a 100 per cent of what is produced or traded within TFZR can either be exported or imported into the Nigerian customs territory, subject to extant  fiscal policy regulations.

In addition, the TFZR will also benefit from the tax and regulatory incentives which cover a typical EPZ.  This includes:

• Exemption from all taxes and levies for all companies and or activities within the zone, allowing for much lower trading and production costs, thereby boosting competitiveness; and
• One-stop approval process for setting up operations, thereby eliminating red-tape and bureaucratic procedures.

2.         The Tinapa Project
Tinapa is a mixed-use retail and resort development on a peninsula within the Calabar Municipality, the capital of Cross River State, Nigeria. This project, given its scale and nature will be revolutionary in the Nigerian context providing direction and setting the tone for future developments of this kind. The project will be located in the Tinapa Free Zone, which is near the Calabar Free Trade Zone, capitalising on the manufacturing, wholesale, retail and import and export opportunities presented by the free trade zone area. A phased approach to the development has been adopted, focusing, at the initial stages on the aspects of the project which will stimulate trade and commerce (including light manufacturing) and thereafter, the subsequent phases will focus on the business tourism aspects of the project. This will ultimately create a base upon which both domestic and international tourism can emerge.
The first phase of the project will comprise the following components:

• A business and resort complex comprising four wholesale emporia of 10,000 square metres each, 100 retail outlets, a food court for five fast food outlets, a games arcade, an Internet and News café, a children’s play area, an administrative centre and parking for cars and coaches;
• A warehouse cluster of four warehouses with combined rentable area of 15,600 sq metres;
• An “entertainment strip,” leading out of the shopping complex, which will include cinemas, a casino, five restaurants and a fisherman’s village (comprising three themed bars, a themed nightclub and an arts and craft village with 20 stalls);
• Accommodation facilities  which will include a 300-room hotel of two star standard;
• Landscaped gardens and an outdoor leisure and entertainment complex; and
• Support services and amenities which will include management offices and medical facilities.

3.         Target Market

• Nigerian traders and wholesalers;
• West African traders and shoppers;
• Calabar residents, and surrounding target population in South – South and South - East Nigeria;
• Nigerian shoppers and leisure seekers;
• Expatriates resident in Nigeria; and
• International visitors.

4.         Relationship between TBRL and TBRFZC
Tinapa Business Resort Limited (TBRL), a company established in accordance with the provision of the Companies and Allied Matters Act is the parent company and wholly owns Tinapa Business Resort Free Zone Company (TBRFZC) (‘‘Zone Management”). TBRFZC as the operator of TFZR in conjunction with other regulatory agencies will permit the grant of appropriate licences for TBRL’s approved activity within the Zone.

The diagram below illustrates the relationship between both parties.
Figure I: Relationship between TBRL and TBRFZC