Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who spoke on Thursday, June 30, in London, United Kingdom (UK), at a business forum organized by the Royal African Society, quoted a recent report by the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, which said Nigeria’s core infrastructure stocks gap, based on international benchmarks, is estimated at $80 billion.
The Minister, who presented a keynote address titled: Mining for prosperity: Fueling Nigeria’s industrialisation in the 21st Century, said the investment would allow Nigeria to close its current infrastructure gap and sustain an ideal infrastructure stock level of 70 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and build infrastructure assets across the seven critical sectors of roads, rail, ports, airports, power, water and information communications technology (ICT).
Fayemi said iron ore and steel would account for the bulk of materials inputs needed to industrialise the country, just as he urged investors to take advantage of the country’s huge steel market.
“We project a steady increase in domestic demand for steel in Nigeria in the coming decade, driven by increased industrialization that will ignite a surge in building construction, power, automotive construction, agriculture, road and bridge building, military technology and infrastructure development, refinery investments and other heavy duty machinery,” he said.
He added that local producers were meeting just about 25 per cent of demand in the sub-sector, a development he said provides the required optimism for foreign investors.
Fayemi also lauded the success recorded in the limestone, where Nigeria moved from being a net-importer of cement to a net-exporter in less than a decade of putting in place the right policy and necessary incentives for local manufacturers.
