By Francis Ogwo
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo has said that the country is heading towards achieving its dream for the manufacturing sector.
This came on the heels of the government’s review of contribution of non-oil sectors of the economy to the GDP.
Speaking as a guest on Thursday at the commissioning of the Nigerian Breweries N5.1 billion automated PET line at Ijebu Ode brewery, Ogun State, Adebayo said:
“This commissioning is a testament to the fact that even though we have quite a way to go, we are heading in the right direction of attaining our goal of increasing the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP and becoming the preferred manufacturing hub in Africa,” a statement by the minister’s spokesperson, Ifedayo Sayo, quoted him as saying.
According to him, the new production is a move by the Federal Government in it’s quest for a vibrant sector especially for job creation and economic growth while adding that the plant would further boost the contribution of the non oil sectors of the economy.
“I am indeed pleased that the Nigerian Breweries is playing a strategic role as a key investor in the economy leveraging on its pedigree and commitment to adopting the latest technology designed with world class safety and quality standards to deliver new and innovative products of premium quality.”
Details from the tweet on the commissioning revealed that the PET line has the capacity to produce 24,000 bottles of drinks per hour and designed with the latest technology and is fully automated to meet world-class safety and quality requirements.
The statement added that “It is also expected to become a central supply and a critical enabler to our plans to export our drinks outside Nigeria to West Africa and beyond, satisfying the refreshment needs of millions of Nigerians and Africans.”
Statistics show that the industrial sector accounts for 6 per cent of economic activity while the manufacturing sector contributed only 4 per cent to GDP in 2011.
This was further driven by the economic transformation agenda, otherwise known as Nigeria Vision 20: 2020, sets the direction for the current industrial policy in Nigeria.
