Omodele Adigun

For Nigeria to witness sustainable growth and development, alongside its peers across the continent, about $90 billion investments is needed annually for the next six years, just as the country CEO of Lafarge Africa, Khaled El Dokani, has called for all hands to be on deck to make the earth a habitable place.

According to Professor John Ebohon, Director of  the Centre for Sustainable & Resilient Communications at London South Bank University, a 10-year  sustainable action plan to bridge infrastructure gap (since 2016) is required for sustainable growth and development in Africa.

Ebohon, who disclosed this at the first virtual World Environmental Day last Tuesday, lamentd that “infrastructure is still a major hindrance to sustainable growth and development in Africa”.He added: “Estimation of $90 billion will be required annually from 2016  to 2026 in order to have a desirable impact on growth and development. Energy, affordable housing, efficient transport and reliable communication systems are growth inducing infrastructure investments to enhance output and productivity in Africa.”

On his part,  El Dokani  noted  that what is going on around the world now shows that “these are unprecedented times and we must continually pay attention to all that matter – including the environment.”

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On what his company is doing to mitigate the impact of its activities on the environment, he said:

“Lafarge Africa Plc ensures our plants operate robust environmental management systems which are fully in alignment with the Lafarge Holcim Group’s Sustainability Strategy. In line with this commitment, our organisation develops rehabilitation and reclamation plan for all our pit and quarry sites while implementing biodiversity management plans for all extraction sites to protect the habitats and facilitate conservation for the future.

On water management, we are reducing freshwater withdrawals; water impacts to the environment and also support sustainability of water resources especially by making provisions in water scarce areas. All our dry process plants are built with water recirculation systems to encourage reuse and recycling of process water

“A total of 26,000 tree seedlings were planted in our Sagamu, Ewekoro, Mfamosing, Maiganga and Ashaka quarries this year and so far 397,500 indigenous trees have been planted across our quarry sites in the country from 2011 till date.”