FG plans 18,000km of fibre optic

The federal government has planned to install 18,000 kilometre of fibre optic for broad band penetration in the next 12 months.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said this was part of the agreements reached on initiatives across five core areas at the last Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council meeting.

The Council also agreed that the federal government would carry out strategic power projects totalling 4.2 GW of electricity.

The Council meeting chaired by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Industrial Council also agreed to start the implementation of the recently approved Road Trust Scheme to accelerate constructing national priority roads across the country; implement an Apprenticeship Programme to bridge the gap between industry skills requirement and supply from educational institutions; and accelerate the implementation of the Nigerian Trade Remedy, Economic Safeguard and AntiDumping mechanism.

On the recent improved ranking of Nigeria on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report, the Minister said: “We’re delighted about the progress made on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report, which saw Nigeria rise 24 places from 169th to 145th.

The Minister also spoke on the upcoming D-8 Ministerial Meeting focusing on Industrial Cooperation in Abuja, which will be hosted by the Ministry and opened by the Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

The D-8 countries are Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.