The Federal Government has unveiled plans to establish building manufacturing hubs in Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to produce essential building materials, reduce import costs, create jobs, and boost economic growth.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Musa Dangiwa, announced these plans during a courtesy visit from Zheng Xiaopeng, Executive Chairman, and High Chief Mike Yousuf Ugwu, Vice Chairman of the Yiwu China-Africa Business Council, at his office in Abuja, according to a statement on the Ministry’s website.
To bring this initiative to fruition, Dangiwa stated that the Federal Government is open to partnering with investors. These investors will fund and manage the projects, recoup their investments, and eventually return the hubs to the government once their investments are recovered.
“We want to tell you that we have one project that we are designing to build; Building Materials Manufacturing Hub. We want to build a hub whereby we have industries or factories that are producing building materials.”
“So, that is our invitation. We want to collaborate with any investor willing to bring funding to build the hub, even if it is two or three hubs, manage it, recoup the investment then give us after recouping the investment,” he said.
Providing more details on the locations of the proposed manufacturing hubs, the Housing Minister announced that they will be established in Sagamu, Ogun State (South West); Aba, Abia State (South East); Warri or Asaba, Delta State (South-South); Ajaokuta, Kogi State (North Central); Kano, Kano State (North West); and Gombe State (North East).
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Explaining the concept of the building material manufacturing hubs, the Housing Minister outlined that these hubs would produce items such as roofing sheets, ceilings, tiles, and doors. They will include essential facilities like power, water, and housing for workers, ensuring a comfortable environment where workers can stay until their tasks are completed.
A minimum of 100 hectares of land will be provided for interested investors, who will bring in and manage the necessary manufacturing machines and equipment. These hubs can vary in size—small, medium, or large—based on investor proposals.
Regarding security, the Minister assured that the selected locations are secure and strategically situated in areas where building materials markets already exist.
Investors are encouraged to submit their own designs to align with the ministry’s concept, as the ministry will not provide specific designs. The Minister highlighted the Chinese model, where building materials are manufactured and then imported to Nigeria, with the goal of replicating this model locally to reduce import costs, create jobs, and boost economic growth.
Additionally, the statement indicated that the federal government plans to designate all manufacturing hubs as free zones, offering incentives such as exemption from import duties on machines and equipment.
