Nigeria is saving about $2bn annually as a result of the local production of cement by different manufacturers, the Dangote Group has stated.

It also stated that the upsurge in cement production had helped increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product from about four per cent some years ago to approximately nine per cent currently.

The group is the parent company of Dangote Cement Plc, Nigeria’s foremost producer of cement.

The Group Executive Director, Dangote Group, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, said this in a presentation entitled: ‘The Nigerian Cement Sub-Sector: A Success Story in Solid Minerals Utilisation’, at the just concluded 46th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers in Abuja.

He stated that the resurgence in the local manufacturing of cement had led to a massive boost to mining operations, adding that about 33 metric tonnes per annum of quarried materials were estimated to have been required to ensure cement production in 2015.

The GED said local cement production had created thousands of direct and indirect jobs and had displaced foreign exchange demand for its importation, which would by now have grown to about $2bn annually.

He added, “It has increased revenue to government in form of taxes, not just from the cement manufacturers, but also from other participants in the value chain. Cement scarcity is now a thing of the past as local production capacity outstrips demand.

“There is now prospects of forex earnings from cement exports to neighbouring countries. It is also a healthy addition to the stock exchange and distribution of wealth to the stockholders.”

The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; and a former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, have complained about the infrastructural deficit and policies that have created bottlenecks for trade among African countries.

In his remarks at the launch of a book authored by the President, Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, in Lagos on Wednesday, Dangote observed that there had been a decline in the exportation of goods out of Africa between 2012 and 2015.

He said the lack of proper understanding of how African trade works, as well as frustrating trade and immigration policies were major problems.

According to him, it costs more to export to African countries than to send goods to countries outside the continent due to the presence of several borders where duties are expected to be paid.

Dangote added, “But the greatest problem that we have in Africa, which we don’t understand, is the intra-trade issue.

“We in Africa are making things difficult for ourselves. For example, today, it costs an average of 2.5 per cent to export outside Africa, but when exporting to another African country, the cost rises to about 13.3 per cent. This is making it difficult to do business. Today, in South America’s integrated market, the trade among them is 40 per cent and the one for the European Union is 60 per cent; but in Africa, it is 10 per cent.

“For someone like me who likes to invest here and there, I need 38 visas to enter 54 African countries. For a British person, he doesn’t need those visas.”

Duke said that the rejection of currencies of other African countries by their counterparts was hindering intra- continent trade.

“Common sense says birds of the same feather flock together. We ought to trade with each other. Currency is a problem. I should be able to buy pharmaceuticals in Ghana and pay in naira,” he stated.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Trade, Femi Edun, said there were plans to establish a testing laboratory for the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to test locally made products before exporting them.

Oramah said the book entitled: ‘Foundations of Structured Trade Finance’, was written to spread knowledge on structured trade finance in tertiary institutions, improve the quality of their Economics, Finance and Banking graduates, and make them employable.

Dangote Cement Plc and BUA Group have turned to locally-mined coal to fire their cement plants and to lower its production costs.

The decision, the companies said, was because of gas shortages due to militant attacks on Nigerian facilities.

“All our cement plants have been converted to coal,” the Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc,  Aliko Dangote, told a business conference on Thursday, adding that they would use 12,000 metric tonnes of coal each day.

Dangote is shifting to coal rather than gas to fire the kilns which produce clinker, an ingredient of cement, Reuterssaid.

BUA Group said it is also switching one of its plants in northern Nigeria to run on coal to fire its kiln to address fuel shortages.

It said technological advances had helped in the processing of coal to reduce emissions.

Dangote’s main cement plant is located in Nigeria’s Kogi State.

BUA Group said its other plants in the south of the country still ran on gas to heat the kilns.

Coal’s use to generate the United States electric power fell in April to its lowest monthly level since 1978, the US Energy Information Administration said in a June report.

Natural gas, meanwhile, surpassed coal as the US’ top fuel source for the third straight month, the EIA said.

But gas shortages have plagued Nigeria, with militants in the oil heartland of the Niger Delta regularly disrupting the West African nation’s oil and gas production.

Dangote, Africa’s biggest cement producer, has an annual production capacity of 43.6 million tonnes and targets output of between 74 million and 77 million tonnes by the end of 2019, and 100 million tonnes of capacity by 2020.

The company has invested more than $5bn to expand outside its home market in the past few years.

Dangote Cement Plc and BUA Group have turned to locally-mined coal to fire their cement plants and to lower its production costs.

The decision, the companies said, was because of gas shortages due to militant attacks on Nigerian facilities.

“All our cement plants have been converted to coal,” the Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc,  Aliko Dangote, told a business conference on Thursday, adding that they would use 12,000 metric tonnes of coal each day.

Dangote is shifting to coal rather than gas to fire the kilns which produce clinker, an ingredient of cement, Reuterssaid.

BUA Group said it is also switching one of its plants in northern Nigeria to run on coal to fire its kiln to address fuel shortages.

It said technological advances had helped in the processing of coal to reduce emissions.

Dangote’s main cement plant is located in Nigeria’s Kogi State.

BUA Group said its other plants in the south of the country still ran on gas to heat the kilns.

Coal’s use to generate the United States electric power fell in April to its lowest monthly level since 1978, the US Energy Information Administration said in a June report.

Natural gas, meanwhile, surpassed coal as the US’ top fuel source for the third straight month, the EIA said.

But gas shortages have plagued Nigeria, with militants in the oil heartland of the Niger Delta regularly disrupting the West African nation’s oil and gas production.

Dangote, Africa’s biggest cement producer, has an annual production capacity of 43.6 million tonnes and targets output of between 74 million and 77 million tonnes by the end of 2019, and 100 million tonnes of capacity by 2020.

The company has invested more than $5bn to expand outside its home market in the past few years.

The 2016 annual lecture of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria which held on Thursday, focused on diversification of the economy as a key solution to the current economic recession.

In his keynote address, the Guest Speaker at the event and Chairman of Dangote Group,  Alhaji Aliko Dangote, noted  that manufacturing is at the centre of economic diversification.

According to him, the time is ripe for the country to stem the outflow of foreign exchange by  weaning itself of the propensity to import what manufacturers can produce locally.

He said, “Economic diversification through value addition for our domestic and export markets is the only way Nigeria will recover from its present economic predicament and achieve high levels of inclusive growth over a sustained period of time.”

On the role of the government in attracting and  facilitating long-term investments  from the private sector, Dangote noted that one of the steps to be taken by government should be  the articulation of clear sector-specific policies along with incentive packages that are commensurate with the risk inherent in each sector adding that this step  should be accompanied  by consistent implementation of industrial policies.

He said, “Policy inconsistency destabilises industrial production plans and erodes investor confidence.  For instance, the suspension of the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate  to exporters and non-payment of existing claims have discouraged non-oil exports and frustrated contracts entered into with overseas buyers.”

He also called for more support for small and medium scale manufacturers, adding that   many Nigerian manufacturers were relatively having limited capital to support their investments. “Government has to develop industrial clusters with requisite infrastructure for this category of businesses. They should also have access to soft loans and research and development support,” he stated.

He also urged the government to boost non-oil exports by ratifying and implementing the road map recently developed by  the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.

The lecture which was themed, “Diversifying the Nigerian economy: The role of government in manufacturing” provided insight into manufacturers’ expectations for 2017 and suggested policy direction.

The President of MAN, Dr. Frank Jacobs, said, “The truth is, our economy is currently challenged and MAN believes that with concerted efforts from all stakeholders, we shall overcome the current economic challenges.”

The event featured interactive  sessions between experts, government  officials and chief executives of manufacturing concerns nationwide as they  reviewed  the performance of the sector,  appraised  the state of the Nigerian economy in the past one year and brainstormed  on the way forward.

The occasion was also used by MAN to present a vivid picture of the current realities of siting or operating  a manufacturing concern  in Nigeria, showcase novel innovations and made-in-Nigeria products as well as collectively agree on workable survival strategies.