AFRICA: NIGERIA: FG to position Nigeria as net exporter of cement, says Aganga

Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Trade and Investment, says the Federal Government has put machineries in motion to position Nigeria as a net exporter of cement to the ECOWAS sub-region.

Aganga disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Project Implementation Team (PIT) charged with establishing a Cement Technology Institute (CTI) in the country. He said that the quest to set up the institute had been on the drawing board for more than 10 years and expressed happiness for being able to ensure its realisation.

``The CTI is being set up to assist the nation to optimise its cement production capacity and capability through acquisition and development of appropriate technology. ``This will make cement adequately available as a low cost building material for the average Nigerian. ``The institute would also be the fulcrum for the positioning of Nigeria as a net exporter of cement with the capacity of meeting the needs of the ECOWAS sub-region,’’ Aganga said.

According to him, the institute will carry out research and development technology adaptation and human capacity building in the cement sub-sector of the economy. He said the objective of the institute, include to train and enhance manpower in cement technology and related fields, especially at the middle management level. It is also to undertake research and development in the areas of suitable alternative technologies in cement manufacturing, utilisation of local raw materials for cement manufacturing and building among others.

Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group of Companies, is the chairman of the board. Responding on behalf of others, Dangote, who was represented by Joseph Makoju, the Chairman of Cement Manufactures Association of Nigeria (CMAN), described the event as a milestone.

``We have high expectations of this institute and we want to see it happen, so we are matured and ready to manufacture cement. We should not only be exporting cement, we should be exporting technology,’’ he said.