Nigeria is building a multi-billion dollar free trade zone with Chinese investors on the edge of its commercial capital Lagos to try to develop a local manufacturing base and help reduce its import dependence.

The $5 billion first phase of the Lekki Free zone, a 3,000 hectare site on the eastern fringe of the city, is 60 per cent held by Chinese investors and 40 per cent by the Lagos state government, the deputy head of the project told Reuters.

The consortium will provide basic infrastructure including roads, power plants and water plants before manufacturing firms are invited to set up business, Lekki Free Zone Development Co (LFZDC) deputy managing director, Adeyemo Thompson, said.

"We have a number of Chinese companies which are coming in the manufacturing area," Thompson said in an interview.

"They are coming to produce furniture, electronics, pharmaceuticals and heavy machinery. We are having a fair in November, that is when we kick off operations."

The Chinese shareholders in the project include China Railway Construction Corp., the China-Africa Development Fund Ltd and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd.

A total of 16,500 hectares of land bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Lagos and Lekki lagoons has been earmarked for the whole free zone, which will include a deepwater sea port and a new international airport in close proximity.

The aim of the free zone is to make it easier for foreign investors, particularly manufacturers, to build a foothold in sub-Saharan Africa's most populous nation and second-biggest economy while still owning 100 per cent of their firms.

It is modelled on free zones around China which have helped the Asian giant to develop its manufacturing base and economy over the past three decades.

"We have a one-stop shop ... No investor has to deal with any government agency directly. We license the enterprises. You can register your enterprise within a week, get permits and everything you need to run your business," Thompson said.

"The free zone allows you to attract foreign direct investment into the country and investors are given some incentives ... It helps boost production, manufacturing, create employment and is a basis for sustainable infrastructure."

The manufacturing and agricultural sectors have been neglected since the 1970s oil boom, when Nigeria began making easy money from crude oil sales. Oil accounts for more than 80 percent of revenues and more than 60 percent of exports.