MAN, others harp on industrial sector investment to boost economy

The Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadri, has called for greater investment in the industrial sector to boost the nation’s economy.

Ajayi-Kadiri, while disclosing this at the launch of a German-owned company, Knauf Training Centre and Modular Mixing Line in Lagos, said that the nation is in dire need of skills to power the industrial sector and all aspects of the economy.

The centre was opened by the Consul General of Germany in Lagos, Dr. Bernd Von Münchow-Pohl; Director, German Business, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Mr. Klaus Helsper; Managing Director, Knauf Engineering, Dr. Alexander Schütz; West Africa Regional Manager, Knauf, Vincent Allard and Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, Katharina Felgenhauer.

Ajayi-Kadri, while applauding the foreign investment, said Nigeria is the best place to invest owing to its large population of vibrant youths, who are sensitive with great potential and are willing to learn.

He noted that despite the challenges that have prevented people from investing in the country, only those who are on ground when things are bad will reap the benefits when things turn out.

He said: “Our connection with Kanuf is because they have a modular mixing line which makes them manufacturers and puts them among those who are moving and contributing to the country’s Gross domestic product.”

The training center, which will offer theoretical and practical knowledge/skills for architects, civil engineers and crafts men on building finishing, would offer up to 800 training positions per year and is jointly financed by Knauf and the DEG, with funds from the develoPPP.de program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The center, with an investment volume of approximately €700,000, is part of a large-scale joint training offensive by Knauf, DEG and the BMZ in countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. It is planned that 12,000 people will be qualified within three years under this initiative.

The training programme borders on improving the economy by ensuring the masses occupy secure housing structures, constructed with environmentally friendly building materials.

The Managing Director, Knauf, Nigeria, Ihendu Okoronkwo, said the training scheme is predicated on the need to construct high-rising structures in Lagos, to create a semblance with building structures in developed countries and to avert building collapse in the country.

He stated that high-rise buildings require an interior wall partitioning with the dry wall system, which is less susceptible to molds and foreign microbial elements that results in most building collapse.

Also speaking, Allard explained that the centre would help trainees learn how different gypsum-based building materials are processed.

He also reiterated that Knauf complies with the highest standards in the areas of environmental compatibility as well as sustainable building use and safety.

He said the housing sector offers a huge opportunity for job creation and that the training of Nigerian artisans, at a discounted fee, would go a long way to help them develop essential skills for the growth of the sector.