a free port (porto franco) or free zone (zona franca), sometimes also called a bonded area (us: foreign-trade zone) is a port or other area with relaxed jurisdiction of customs or related national regulations. most commonly a free port is a special customs area or small customs territory with generally less strict customs regulations (or no customs duties and/or controls for transshipment). earlier in history, some free ports like hong kong enjoyed political autonomy. many international airports have free ports, though they tend to be called customs areas, customs zones, or international zones. a free economic zone (a specific type of special economic zone) may also be called a free port.  ==free ports and free zones by country== ===africa=== ==== libya ==== misrata free zone ==== liberia ==== free port of monrovia ==== egypt ==== *port said *suez canal container terminal ==== eritrea ==== *massawa free port and international airport *assab free port and international airport ==== morocco ==== #tangier exportation free zone #atlantic free zone kenitra ==== mauritius ==== *port louis free port ==== nigeria ==== registered free zones in nigeria although the enabling act came into effect in 1992, the pioneer free zone (the calabar free trade zone) was not fully completed until 1999, and commenced operation after official commissioning in november 2001. since then, the free zones scheme has been used as a vehicle for industrial and commercial development of the country. private sector participation and partnership with the federal government and other tiers of government has helped spread the scheme. this has culminated in the establishment of specialised free zones and other types of zones, namely: {| class="wikitable" |- ! s/n !! name !! location !! status !! ownership |- | 1 || calabar free trade zone (cftz) || crs || operational || fed. govt. |- | 2 || kano free trade zone (kftz) || kano state || operational || fed. govt. |- | 3 || onne oil & gas free zone || river state || operational || under parallel authority |- | 4 || tinapa free zone & tourism resort || crs || operational || private/public |- | 5 || snake island integrated || lagos || operational || private |- | 6 || maigatari border free zone || jigawa state || operational || state |- | 7 || ladol free zone || lagos || operational || private |- | 8 || airline services export proc. zone || lagos state || operational || private |- | 9 || alscon export processing zone || akwa ibon || operational || private |- | 10 || ogun guangdong free trade zone || ogun state || operational || public/ private |- | 11 || sebore farms export processing zones || adamawa state || operational || private |- | 12 || ibom science &
Commercial_item_transport_and_distribution Free_ports International_taxation Lists_of_ports Special_economic_zones