The Federal Government is set to unveil the Automotive Supplier Industrial Park (ASIP) in Kaduna State to unlock opportunities in the auto sector and manufacturing industry in Nigeria.
The ASIP initiative is part of the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment’s concept to establish ASIP in three locations in the country to promote technology evolution in the automotive sector.
The project is also in line with NASENI’s mandate of providing primary and intermediate capital products required for machine and equipment design, fabrication, and mass production to enable sustainable industrialization of the country.
The ASIP in Kaduna is the first to be developed, although industrial parks for the automotive sector were planned for three zones in the country. The ASIP aims to create employment and skilled labour in the region and sub-Saharan Africa, save foreign exchange spent on importing vehicles and spare parts and provide the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company with necessary support to produce armoured vehicles.
The managing director of NASENI’s Hydraulic Equipment Development Institute (HEDI), Kano, Prof. Abdulmalik Onuwe, briefed the assessment team on the project’s progress report.
He said that a special memo was sponsored by HEDI for the development of ASIP in Igabi local government of Kaduna State, in 2020, which received the attention and approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning in 2021 under Special Intervention Capital Appropriation.
The ASIP site covers over 501,342.5m2 of land and includes the information and communication technology centre, administrative block, automotive sales spare outlet and NASENI Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre of Excellence. The park will be equipped with state-of-the-art autotronics laboratories, hydraulic and pneumatic laboratory equipment and CNC machines to enhance productivity.
During an assessment of the project site, the coordinating director of planning and business development (PBD) and chairman of the standing committee on commissioning of NASENI projects, Mrs. Nonyem Onyechi, commended the project manager and contractors on the progress made so far but advised them to fast-track the work to meet the two-week deadline for the committee’s revisit.
The ASIP comprises several buildings, including the ICT buildings, advanced manufacturing technology workshop, NASENI Centre for Excellence, cargo stations, automotive parts and sales services outlet building and underpass, a statement by NASENI’s chief information officer, Chinyere Obiorah, said.
