DREDGING & COMMERCIAL SAND PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA; THE OPPORTUNTIES.

It is widely agreed that one of the most basic needs of man is shelter and in time past man has experienced with different material in order to meet with his housing needs. In modern day history, the use of cement along with sand and gravel as come to be accepted as one of the best construction raw material because they provide durability, firmness and can withstand harsh weather conditions though other materials like steel and glass are also used.

The ever increasing deficit in housing supply in Nigeria which is estimated at over sixteen million {16,000,000} units and the need for the construction of other important infrastructure if the country is to meet up with the vision 20:2020 project of becoming amongst the top 20 economies in the world by 2020 continues to drive the need to sand, an essential construction raw material and the need for the use of modern equipment in the production of sand, in order to meet with demands.

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz.

Though there are no reliable figures on the annual production in Nigeria, it is generally agreed that there has been an increased in production in order to meet up with increasing demands .In Nigeria and mostly in the oil and gas industry where they are used to make waterways more navigatable, Dredgers are required in commercial sand production.

Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location. This technique is often used to keep waterways navigable.

It is also used as a way to replenish sand on some public beaches, where too much sand has been lost because of coastal erosion. Dredging is also used as a technique for fishing for certain species of edible clams and crabs, see fishing dredge.

Dredging activities produces lots of sand which are required in construction and other important activities. A dredge is a device for scraping or sucking the seabed, used for dredging. A dredger is a ship or boat equipped with a dredge.

Though dredging and sand production can create lots of wealth for the operator, it creates disturbance in aquatic ecosystems, often with adverse impacts and at such various states government in Nigeria are coming up with regulations and laws to protect the environment. The investor requires being up to date with the current regulations in the industry.

A fully equipped dredger can excavate approximately 300 cubic yards of commercial grade sand per hour, utilizing 8’ x 10’ dredge pump. The Dredger uses a hydraulic, submersible 12" radial fan pump mounted at the end of the boom behind a shrouded, horizontal cutterhead. The pump is rated at 3,500-gpm slurry with a maximum T.D.H. (slurry s.g. 1.25) @ 881 rmp w/2,000 feet discharge length.
Some of the areas where opportunities exist in dredging in Nigeria include

Oil and Gas
Construction
Enviroment
Transportation

Should you require a business plan/feasibility study, supply contract or sourcing of the product from miners in Nigeria, please do contact the writer. You can read through our website at www.foramfera.com.


Anaekwe Everistus Nnamdi is a Business Developmenthttp://login.articlealley.com/submitArticle.php Consultant by day and blogs on investment opportunities in Nigeria by Night. He is the administrator of www.nigeriabusinessplace.com ,a forum focused on business in Nigeria.

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