Abdul-Samad Rabiu, chairman and CEO of BUA Group, has said it is cheaper to transport a container from China to Lagos than from Lagos to Kano, Daily Trust has reported.
According to the report, Mr Rabiu said this in Paris while commenting on the enormous opportunities in the Nigerian transportation system, particularly the rail sector.
Mr Rabiu said investment in transformation, especially the railways system, will unveil enormous opportunities for the country and investors.
The BUA boss commended the Buhari administration’s investment in rail infrastructure across the country.
He, however, urged global financiers and private investors to invest in the rail sector.
He said with large arable land in Nigeria, there are opportunities in commercial agriculture as well as mining and manufacturing.
According to him, Nigeria is sitting on billions of tons of different mineral resources including limestone which his company is well known for in the production of cement.
“Nigeria is sitting on 45 billion tons of limestones and presently all the cement factories in the country combined are producing 30 million tons of cement daily.
“We are able to produce for local consumption and also for export.
“One of my plants in Sokoto is exporting cement to Niger Republic which is about 120km to the plant and also to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which is about 400km away from Sokoto.
“Nigeria is one of twelve countries in the world that have large deposit of iron ore, gas and coal, but unfortunately the country is importing steel.
“We spend $2.5 billion annually importing steel to Nigeria.
“With $2.5 billion, we should be able to set up a plant that can produce steel of 1.5 to 2 million tons per annum.”