By Alhaji Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan
“Promotion of export from Kaduna Inland Dry Ports as a Key to Nigeria’s economic diversification”: In other words- How can we enhance, encourage or facilitate exports, using the Kaduna Inland Dry Port? and how will it contribute or assist in the Nation’s economic diversification programme.
The following steps will assist us to achieve the first step of the topic.
i. Harnessing The Solid Mineral Resources Of Kaduna State.
We are aware of the fact that Kaduna State is very richly endowed with solid mineral deposits only second to Nasarawa State, several study report from the National Ecological Survey Agency has confirmed this. These solid minerals include: Tantalite, Gemstone, Rock Crystal Ruby, Selenite, Sapphire, Gold, Clay, Kyanite, Asbestos, Graphite, Aquamarine, Kaolin among many others.
These are all raw materials for several industries including Building, Automotive electronics, Metallurgy, Medical, Atomic energy and essentially chemical industry.
The Kaduna Inland Dry Port provides Kaduna State and her people the needed opportunity to harness and export these.
ii. ENSURING THAT THE KIDP IS OPERATING EFFECTIVELY.
All the huddles and challenges impeding the operational capacity of the port must be identified and removed.
I am happy to see that the issue of the challenges to the operational potentials of the port is one of the sub topics for discussion in this event and I am convinced that it will be adequately addresses.
iii. CREATING AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR INVESTORS IN THE DRY PORT SOLID MINERALS SECTORS THROUGH IMPROVED SECURITY, INFRASTRUCTURE , INCENTIVES AND RAIL WAYS CONNECTIVITY.
There is nothing wrong in Government establishing an export Free Zone in Kaduna to attract more Investors and consolidate the grains of the IDP.
How Would The Promotion Of The Export Potential Of Kaduna Inland Dry Port Contribute To The Nation’s Economic Diversification Agenda?
To answer this question, Let us be reminded that one of the greatest undoing of our Nation is over dependence on Crude oil as the Key source of the nation’s National Income. The Federal Government is presently committed to changing this trend to non-oil sources.
There are three key sectors that can help the government in this regard:
a. Solid Minerals
b. Agriculture and
c. Tourism.
Fortunately enough, Kaduna State is rich in these three areas.
The promotion of exports using the KIDP will assist our National economic diversification quest in the following ways:
i. Massive Job Creation
The harnessing of solid minerals potentials of the State and its subsequent export using the Dry Port alone is capable of solving the unemployment problem of the state and reducing the National rate of unemployment at large.
Another angle to this is that investors would be attracted from different parts of the world who will establish processing industries here and exporting the processed and semi- processed to their home countries as secondary raw materials for the manufacturing of goods.
This on its own creates wide multiplier economic effects for both the State and the Nation which subsequently increases the Nation’s GDP and GNP. The State and the Federal Government can equally enter into Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with foreign partners in the mining and processing of Solid Minerals at mutually beneficial terms.
This will create a very long value chain from mining, to processing and export to human capital development.
ii. Enhanced Revenue Generation
One of the key reasons for diversification is to increase the nation’s income stream through diverse revenue sources (Non- oil revenue source).
The enhancement of the export potentials of the Kaduna Inland Dry Port will result in a more than appropriate increase in the revenue base of the State and the Federal Governments in the following ways:
a. Foreign exchange earning
b. Export duties
c. Fees from use of terminal spaces
d. Demurrage charges
e. Logistic and haulage fees for using the rail lines and Coaches
f. Excise duties and tariffs
g. Taxes and Operational Permits among others.
III Increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),
Investors from different parts of the world will be attracted to the State and the Nation to take advantage of the Dry Port facility to further their business opportunities. With this the Agricultural, Tourism and Solid Mineral Potentials of the State will be harnessed. This will create jobs and yield Good Multiplier Economic Advantages to the State and the Nation general.
In conclusion, l thank you once again for this opportunity, and plead with the organisers to ensure that the thoughts and ideas generated in this gathering will be made available to the political and economic leaders of our State and the Federal Government so that the purpose of this gathering could be achieved.
Being paper presented at the One-Day interactive programme held in Kaduna last week to flag-off the commencement of cargo delivery by rail to the Kaduna Inland Dry Port.
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