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Bitumen exploration: Federal government takes fresh steps on 42.74 metric tonnes.

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The Federal government has concluded plans to concession its bitumen reserve of 42.74 billion metric tonnes in order to stop the over-reliance on imported bitumen for domestic road construction.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite stated this while briefing newsmen on the concession of delineated bitumen blocks in Abuja.

Mr. Adegbite said that the concession of the bitumen became imperative as Nigeria ranks sixth in the world in terms of reserve size, but still depends on importation for the construction of its roads among others.

Nigeria has one of the largest deposits of bitumen natural sands in the world, with huge deposits in states like Edo, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos.

The Federal Government has been pushing for private sector participation and investment in local bitumen production to meet the local demand in the country, saying all necessary incentives would be provided to make this happen.