Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said Nigeria needs more than $3 trillion to close its current infrastructure gap and sustain an ideal infrastructure stock level of 70 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Dr. Fayemi, disclosed this yesterday in London, United Kingdom, at a business forum organised by the Royal African Society, where he presented a address titled: Mining for Prosperity: Fuelling Nigeria’s Industrialisation in the 21st Century.
But he said that wouldn’t happen overnight as it would take the country 30 years to properly build infrastructure assets across the seven critical sectors – roads, rail, ports, airports, power, water and ICT.
He maintained that iron ore and steel would account for the bulk of material inputs needed to industrialise Nigeria, 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 industrialisation 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 are currently meeting just about 25 per cent of demand in the sub-sector, a development which, he said, provided the required optimism for foreign investors.
Fayemi hailed the success recorded in 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.
“We are working with all stakeholders in the industry to encourage replication of the limestone success story in the beneficiation of other industrial minerals, towards powering the industrialisation of the country.
Our aspiration is to build a world class minerals and mining ecosystem designed to serve a targeted domestic and export market for minerals and ores,” he added.
The minister said the country would focus on minerals, mining and related processing industry over a three -phased period to achieve that.
