Nigeria To End Sugar Imports In 2018 – Dangote

Nigerian leading Industri
alist, Aliko Dangote says Nigeria will stop sugar importation by 2018 as President Goodluck Jonathan launches Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) in Abuja.
Dangote who spoke at the launch of the NIRP and the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP), described the launch as giant stride because stakeholders were carried along in their conception.
He said that with the enabling environment, right policies and political will of the Jonathan’s administration, the sugar sub-sector would witness the same turnaround as in cement.
Specifically, he said with the backward integration policy introduced in the sub-sector, Nigeria would cease to be a net importer of sugar in the next four years.
He recalled that from the net annual production of two million tonnes of cement few years back, which was not adequate for local consumption in 2013 the country for the first time exported cement with a net production of more than 29 million tonnes.
Dangote hailed the Jonathan administration’s efforts to bring down bank interest rate to manufacturers to single digit.
He said that while his company was constructing the Obajana cement factory in Kogi, he borrowed at 4 per cent interest rate with short term of 90 days.