Nigeria attracted $59bn pipeline local and foreign direct investments into the different sectors of the economy within three years, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said.
He noted that the far-reaching industrial policies initiated by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, had helped to make the country a destination of choice for investment and also diversify the nation’s economic base.
Aganga spoke during the 4th Annual Seminar for Industry, Trade and Investment Correspondents and Business Editors, in Abuja.
He said the report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had ranked Nigeria the number one destination for investment for two consecutive years, with the country maintaining its top three position last year.
He said, “If you look at pipeline investments that have come into the country within the last three years, we have a minimum of $59billion coming into the different sectors of the economy over the next five to eight years. This does not include the investments that are coming into the power sector. If you look at the value chain, we have about $60billion investments going into the power sector.
“Out of the $59billion that I talked about, about $12bn is going into integrated petrochemical plant. This means that if that petrochemical plant comes on stream as planned by 2018, there will be no need for the country to import refined petroleum products, and that will be a big boost towards the economic diversification of the country.”
He added, “Also, a lot investments are going into fertilizer and ethanol plants, agribusiness such as sugarcane to sugar, rice mills and cement, among others.
“We have new investments going into the automobile sector due to the implementation of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan, which is a major component of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan.”
The minister pointed out that the increased investment focus on Nigeria, as well as sound policies across all sectors of the Nigerian economy, had helped to create more employment and increase the capacity utilisation of key manufacturing sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He said, unlike in the past, when there was no comprehensive and coordinated industrial policy for the country, the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan had been developed as a major game changer.
Aganga stated, “President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2013, launched the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan as a major game-changer. This was based on the principle that no nation has successfully moved from being a poor to a rich nation without a robust industrial and services sector.
“In 2011, we did not have a comprehensive automotive policy on the ground. Today, in the automotive sector, over 22 companies have signed technical commitments to manufacturing or assembling cars in Nigeria.”
He added that the manufacturing capacity utilisation for the automotive sector had also increased by 40 per cent, while investment in sugar cane had risen from $100m in 2011 to N3.2billion today.
In the cement sector, the minister said MITI, under President Jonathan, had made significant progress, with installed capacity currently at 39.5million metric tonnes, up from 16.5million metric tonnes per annum in 2011.
Aganga said, “In 2011, the installed capacity in the cement sector was 16.5 million metric tonnes per annum. Today, it is 39.5 million metric tonnes. When we came in, there were about $9 billion investment in the cement sector, but today, it is more than $15billion. In 2011, the direct and indirect jobs from the cement sector were less than 600. Today, the sector provides about 2.2 million direct and indirect jobs.
According to him, unlike in the past when there was heavy importation of cement, since 2013, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has not issued any import licence.
“Our main focus for the cement sector, going forward, is to improve the standard of cement and to bring the price down. Cement manufacturers must do it because we do not do price regulation. There was an announcement a few days ago that one of the cement manufacturers is bringing down the price of its 32.5 by 40 per cent from N1,700 per bag to N1,000. The 42.5 is coming down from around N1,800 to about N1, 150 per bag.
He added, “There have been complaints about what is happening in the sector. But Nigerians should not worry because we know what we are doing. We have a competition policy, we have anti-trust law that we are looking at and we have a competition Bill that is going to the National Assembly. We will make sure that industrialists and investors across the country continue to have the confidence that everyone will play on a level playing ground.”
