Don't Miss

Cement industry attracts $8bn new investments – Aganga

By BusinessNews Staff on January 24, 2014

Nigeria’s cement industry has attracted additional investment worth $8bn, driven largely by the implementation of the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy, according to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga.

The minister, who said this during a meeting with the Indian business community in Lagos on Wednesday, added that the Federal Government was targeting an increased production capacity in the sector, from about 28.5 million metric tonnes last year to about 39 metric tonnes in 2014.

Aganga said, “We have had a major success in the cement sector. For the first time ever in the history of Nigeria, we exported cement in 2013. We had capacity of 28.5 million metric tonnes last year. Our current demand is between 18 and 20 million metric tonnes.

“However, this year, it should be about 39 million metric tonnes, and we should have one of the largest, if not the largest cement factory in the world in Nigeria.”

The success recorded in the cement sector, according to him, is what the government wants to replicate in other sectors under the National Industrial Revolution Plan.

According to the latest information from cement manufacturers, the total investment in the sector is between $7bn and $8bn and it employs about 1.6 million people.

“The impact of the success story in the cement sector will be felt more with the inauguration of the new Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company that will support building and construction in housing. The housing sector has a lot of potential in terms of job creation,” he added.

The minister noted that in line with the Federal Government’s Industrial Revolution Plan, a new policy that would revamp and fast-track the growth and development of the cotton, textile and garment sector would soon be unveiled.

He said the policy would address the multifaceted problems facing the sector, including access to long-term finance to help textile manufacturers increase their production capacity.

Aganga said, “The new policy on cotton, textile and garment should have been out last year but we have decided to do one more round of consultation this month. I hope that by February this year, the policy on cotton, textile and garment will be out.

“Already, there are certain aspects of it that we have started implementing. For instance, in the area of finance, the Federal Government provided N100bn CTG Fund, but there is a case from the textile industries that they needed it at a lower interest rate and for a longer term.

“President Goodluck Jonathan has graciously approved that the Bank of Industry implements this by converting the loans to equity. We have started implementing this already but we hope the new policy on the CTG, which will be out soon, will address most of the challenges facing the sector.”

In order to boost job creation, the minister added that the government would address the imbalance in the tariff structure between raw materials and finished goods as part of the renewed efforts to encourage value addition through the processing of local raw materials.

[Punch]

headline