By Franklin Alli

The Industry, Trade and Investment sectors of the economy in 2014   was dominated by the launch of Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and standardisation of the local cement industry by the Federal Government.

Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan

Looking back, the year started on a cheerful note with the launch of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) in January, 2014, by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The NIRP, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, is a five-year plan to improve competitiveness and rapidly increase the capacity utilisation of local industries for job creation and wealth generation in Nigeria.

The plan identifies industry groups where the country has comparative advantages , such as agro allied and agro processing; metals and solid minerals process; oil and gas related industries; and construction, light manufacturing and services.

The NIRP also addresses the numerous issues that have held back the Nigerian non-oil sector for years, such as it addresses the high cost of funding and lack of long term finance in Nigeria; it builds up Industrial infrastructure and power for industry; provides industrial skills; links innovation and industry; improves investment climate; strengthens product standards; and promotes local patronage.

The NIRP also links trade policy with Investment and industrial policies. This brings coherence in government’s agenda to diversify the economy.  Also, with the NIRP, government targets to increase manufacturing contribution to GDP from 4 percent to over 10 percent by 2017, and add about N5 trillion to manufacturing annual revenues.

In order to achieve this targets, the NIRP has linkages with other government agencies such as the Ministry of Mines and Steel, Agriculture, Petroleum, Power, Transport, Finance, Works, ICT, Science & Technology and the private sector to ensure adequate policy synergy and consistency.

Standardisation of cement industry

Looking back 2014 has also been a year of anxiety for operators in the country’s cement industry.  What was hitting the headlines for more than the first half of the year was the issue of standardisation of cement products by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON.

Recall that the tension in the industry was ignited by a coalition of civil society groups and professional bodies in the construction industry. The groups decried the use of low quality cement in construction works arguing that it was partly responsible for incessant building collapse across the country. They called on SON to sandardardize cement products in the country.

SON swiftly reacted to the outcry by the coalition and set up a technical committee of experts to review cement standards in the country. The technical committee was headed by Professor Innocent Onyeyili.

Its members were drawn from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CIMAN), the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) including representatives of the Dangote Cement Company, Ibeto Cement and Lafarge WAPCO.   At the end of the day, the Technical committee came out with a new standard for the cement industry.

The new guidelines which was approved by SON Governing Council and signed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, mandated local manufacturers to incorporate the following information on their bag of cement: CEM I 52.5R and 52.5N for use in the construction of bridges; CEM II 42.5R, 42.5N for use in the casting of columns, beams, slabs, blocks moulding; CEM I & II 32.5R, 32.5N for plastering of buildings only. SON went further to compel the cement manufacturers to print the expiry date on their cement bags.

Primarily, the new guidelines mandate the manufacturers to indicate on product bags the manufacturing and expiry dates, product application information as well as the batch numbers of the products.

Cement manufacturers, including Dangote Cement, Lafarge Nigeria, Unicem, Ibeto Cement, Ashaka Cement and Sokoto Cement, had appealed to the agency to review its initially-proposed 30-day deadline to enable them to implement the changes in their processes.

The move, which is expected to enhance traceability in case of product failures, also places a responsibility on cement manufacturers to ensure that their products meet required guidelines and health and safety requirements.

Nigerian cement producers are also expected to submit their advertisements and commercials for pre-approval by the SON before they are sent to the media, while processes should be initiated to ensure that products are properly stored by distributors and retailers to avoid compromising product integrity.