(Industry, Trade and Investment News) Nigeria’s Industry, Trade and Investment Minister, Olusegun Aganga has said that plans have been concluded to develop and implement a comprehensive Backward Integration Policy (BIP) for the iron and steel sub-sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Olusegun Aganga, who said this during a one-day stakeholders’ forum tagged: “Transforming the Minerals, Iron and Steel Sub-Sector for Industrial Revolution in Nigeria” held in Lagos on Thursday January 30, 2014 noted that the initiative was in line with the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).
The stakeholders’ forum was organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to provide the platform for the iron and steel sub-sector to strategise on utilizing the BIP to support the development of critical industries in the country.
Aganga said: “What we have done today is to bring together all the stakeholders in the metal sector which is critical to industrialization to look at how we can develop and attract more investors into the sector through the right policies and strategies. We cannot just sit down in Abuja and develop a policy for the sector without the full engagement, input and involvement of key players in the sector,” he posited.
“When you look at the current situation in the iron and steel sector, Nigeria spends about $3.3billion annually in the importation of steel and yet we have iron ore in the country. Currently, we have some cold rolling mills in the country. We want to implement the Backward Integration Programme in iron-ore, so that we can become a net exporter of iron-ore just as we have done with cement.”
The minister added that the success which Government has achieved with the BIP in the cement industry has proven that it can be replicated in at least fifteen sectors of the economy. He explained that it is what we can be done by the Nigerian government to diversify the economy, create more jobs and move from a poor to rich economy.
“Just as we have done in the cement, sugar and automotive sectors, our objective is to co-develop a holistic backward programme that will make Nigeria number one in Africa and top ten globally over time,” he averred.
According to him, the NIRP has been strategically developed and linked with sectors of the economy where the country currently has competitive and comparative advantage such as mines and steel and agri-business, among others.
He further observed that industrialisation is central to national development, saying as as a country, Nigeria has undertaken several initiatives in the past to accelerate its industrial development. He also indicated that what makes NIRP different from previous initiatives is its position as the first industrialisation road map to be simultaneously strategic, holistic and integrated.
“In the past, we have made the mistake of relying on exporting raw materials and in the process exported jobs. This is what the industrial revolution plan is trying to change. We will work together with all the stakeholders, including state governments, manufacturers, ministries, departments and agencies of Government to drive the implementation,” he promised.
Also speaking, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada called for increased collaboration between the Federal Ministries of Mines and Steel Development and that of Industry, Trade and Investment for proper utlisation of the nation’s abundant industrial minerals to boost industrialisation.
Musa Sada reiterated that steel is expected to serve as the world’s most engineering material for some time to come due to its versatility. Adding, the annual steel production in Nigeria is estimated at about 3.5 million tones; while the country imports about 17 million tonnes of steel and allied products annually. Local steel production, he inferred is only gotten through a 100 % melting of scrap steel.
“We want to see the iron and steel sector play a major role in the industrial development of our country. In order to achieve this, we need to partner the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment by keying into the NIRP to create the critical value chains that will drive sustainable industrial development, ” he disclosed.
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