FG committed to growth of manufacturing sector – Aganga

Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga
The Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, on Saturday restated government’s commitment to the growth of the manufacturing sector.

He said the backward integration policy adopted by the government was the most successful policy in the country.

The minister, who said this after a facility tour of Dangote Cement factory in Obajana, Kogi State, also expressed optimism that with the success recorded in the backward integration policy, Nigeria would become one of the largest exporters of cement by 2012.

Obajana cement factory is the single largest cement plant in sub-Saharan Africa, with current production capacity of five million tonnes of cement.

It was built at a cost of $1.2bn and accounts for 46 per cent of Dangote Cement’s production

Accompanied by the Minister of State for Finance, Hajiya Yabawa Wabi, and the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Aganga admitted that it was difficult formulating policies owing to the unpredictable nature of the economy.

He, however, added that despite economic dynamism, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was committed to formulating policies that would stimulate the growth of all sectors in the economy, particularly manufacturing.

According to him, “It is difficult formulating policies because we have to see how these policies affect our industries. To ensure that we formulate the right polices, we have a forum where we meet with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria on a quarterly basis.

“The backward integration policy is one of the most successful policies that government has formulated and we hope that by 2012, the country will be the next exporter of cement because the government for every reason has to support the cement industry so that Nigeria can feel proud to celebrate the accomplishment of our entrepreneurs.”





Aganga admitted the challenges being faced by the sector but said that the Federal Government was working towards tackling the issue.

He urged the president of the Group to come up with suggestions that would assist government to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the sector during the next meeting of the National Economic Management Team.

Earlier, Dangote, while welcoming the minister, complained about the huge infrastructure deficit, particularly roads and power in the country.

To tackle the problem of bad roads, Dangote urged the Federal Government to construct roads made with concrete materials rather than bitumen.

He said, “We need to start building roads made with concrete materials because unlike bitumen roads that wear out easily, roads constructed with concrete can last up to 30 years without potholes.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011152202645