The Chairman and Chief Executive of BUA Group, on Tuesday in Lagos urged the Federal Government and Development Financial Institutions to partner for the revival of Nigeria’s steel industry thereby saving the nation over $3bn in foreign exchange spent on its import annually.
Such move, he assured would help create and sustain thousands of jobs in the sector, just as he urged government to lay emphasis on industries raw materials can be easily sourced locally for production.
Rabiu, who spoke in Lagos, urged government to see the need to support the development of the steel sector as national security issue, especially given the quantum of raw materials available in the country.
Commenting on the recent merger of Cement Company of Northern Nigeria and Kalambaina Cement Company, both members of BUA Group and based in Sokoto State, north east Nigeria, Alhaji Rabiu said the plants are well positioned to deliver value to stakeholders, given that it is the only producer serving that area of the country. Besides, he noted that the plant’s location enables it to serve customers across the Nigerian border in Niger Republic and other nearby countries, earning foreign exchange.
Specifically, Rabiu noted that 30% of what is produced from CCNN plants is exported to Niger Republic.
The BUA chief executive lamented the yearly gap of about two million metric tonnes of imported raw sugar in the country, which he said is not sustainable, hence the need to substitute with local refining via the Backward Integrated Policy of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan.
As part of the backward integration efforts, he spoke of the group’s investments such as the 20,000ha Lafiagi Sugar and 50,000ha Bassa Sugar plantations, recounting his Ugandan experience, Rabiu said Nigeria has the land and capacity to crush tonnes of sugar cane to produce refined sugar, with potential to explore the export market.
BUA is making a total investment of over $300 million in Lafiagi Sugar Company to cover the plantation, sugar milling and refining, the ethanol and power plant as well as the complete agricultural aspects of the project.
On completion, it is expected that the Lafiagi sugar refinery will have capacity to crush about 7,000 tons of cane per day and produce over 140,000 tons of pure refined white sugar, about 25 million litres of ethanol, generate 35 megawatts of electricity, besides generating employment opportunities for over 10,000 people.