Nigerians are set to benefit from industrial parks for the construction sector in each state of the federation by Zeberced Group.
The Managing Director of Zeberced Group, Mr. Adil Kurt told the journalist on a tour of the Abuja industrial park that not less than 40,000 Nigerians would be directly employed after the completion of the parks.
He also said that partnership between the federal and state governments should be deliberate in investing in the industrial parks across the country so that it can take millions of Nigerians off the unemployment market.
” Any such facility when fully operational can significantly deplete the population in the unemployment market in Nigeria.” Mr. Kurt said.
He noted that the indirect employment opportunities from a single industrial park can gainfully engage over 120,000 people as they carry out their various related businesses in the building industry.
Mr. Kurt said that the desire of the federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the respective governors to urgently boost the Nigerian economy could be achieved by developing the construction sector-industrial-parks, in each state to spiral economic boom.
He argued that, where each state develops a park of such immense benefit with 120,000 persons gainfully employed in the industry, the 36 states would absorb over a million persons.
“For the industrial park, when we complete the entire structure, the direct employment would be about 40,000, but here in Nigeria, I believe, it would need more.
Indirect jobs can easily be calculated. If, for example, each of these business concerns generates three or four persons, it would translate to over 200,000 population of gainfully employed persons. This is just one. Imagine where each state government established one in their states.The impact would be huge,” the Managing Director stated.
He said Nigeria is blessed with all the materials it needs for construction of any kind but can only be realized through value addition and offers investment opportunities to government and private entities to develop.
Mr. Kurt however noted that Nigeria cannot grow when it relies on other countries for about 95% import of finished products which it can produce, process and create the needed employment for its citizens and improve on the quality of life of her people.
While taking journalists round the industrial park and quarry sites, the managing Director said that Nigeria boasts of the largest quarry sites in Africa because its team of investors believed in the enormity of the country’s capacity to feed its built sector with all the materials it required to build her infrastructure to drive development and invested in this direction and the opportunity for investment has remained huge.
He said the direction of the administration for concrete roads should provoke states and even local governments to establish various industrial parks to accelerate the desired development of the country.
Consequently, that will significantly improve the population of gainfully employed persons in the economy and positively impact on those lives. We are craving the indulgence of the federal and the state governments to ensure that at least each state should have one such industrial park. It is important to diversify industry all over the country, not only in selected areas like Abuja or Lagos, but no, it should be all over the country. He said.
The Managing Director of Zeberced also said that he is aware that there could be challenges in setting up a park but the determination of the government and other private initiatives to boost the economy as large as Nigeria required very deliberate efforts for sustainable development.
“Of course, we have challenges, but the government must push. It is about sustainable development. It will serve the construction sector covering cement and stones, which are the critical materials for construction. From here, we make blocks of all kinds, erect houses, build roads, etc.
There is a huge potential in Nigeria’s construction sector, which we have seen. This is a developing country and we need a lot of infrastructure to be put in place for the growth of the raw materials to accelerate development of quarry business which requires the production of aggregates for various structural design in Nigeria.
The two materials in the construction sector are cement, and the other one is stone, so we chose stone, and we are processing this by adding value to the raw hill. For instance, in our country, you cannot even see granite but here, everywhere is granite, It forms a strong material to build the infrastructure, like roads which I mentioned earlier and it remains one of the best materials.
In our country, I use to go meters deep to bring out these stones but here everywhere is stone, so this is really a blessed country, if you keep it as a hill, it does not make any economic impact to the people. However, when you bring it and add value to it by processing it, to various aggregate like we have here primary, secondary and tertiary sorting of the sizes of granite needed, we build the construction sector.” He added.
The media tour, symposium and medical outreach for journalists, was part of the NUJ-FCT Council in partnership with Zeberced Group.
Over 150 members of the NUJ-FCT engaged in a walk exercise from Berger junction at Utako District through Jabi District, Abuja.
The walk had the National President of the NUJ Mr. Chris Isiguzo and the Managing Director of Zeberced Group, Adil Kurt, walked for about five kilometres.
There was also a symposium on the interactive session where the journalists’ leadership of Zeberced Group got talking and rediscovering each other.
Shakirat Sadiq
