Business
Industrialist Tasks FG On Food Processing, Cement Production
An industrialist, Chief Ndukwe Iko, on Thursday urged the Federal Government to muster the political will to harness the country’s potential in food processing and cement production.
Iko, the Managing Director of Task International Ltd., an industrial installation and factory building firm in Lagos, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Umuahia.
He said that more than 20 million jobs would be created if government could harness the abundant potential in food processing and production of cement.
“Nigerians produce a lot of foods, but due to inadequate investment in food processing factories, most of these foods rot away yearly.
“We also have commercial deposit of limestone in most states like Benue, Kogi, Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu states.
“What is needed now is government’s political will to exploit these opportunities, “ he said.
Iko said government’s privatisation drive should not undermine its efforts at creating conducive environment for the manufacturing sector to thrive.
“In most developed nations, government provides a lot of incentives for investors because that is the sure way to attract huge investments into the local economy’’, he said.
Iko said that there were much gains for government in massive investment in cement production, adding that it would also “step up“ the standard of living in Nigeria.
“A lot of Nigerians cannot afford a house because of the level of government’s investment in the housing sub-sector, “ he said.
He said with two billion naira, a moderate cement factory could be built, while N10 billion could build a world class cement factory.
“Investment in cement manufacturing is highly profitably.
“With less than N400, you can produce and recover your investment in less than four years’’, he said