Reviving Moribund Factories Through BOOT FDI: A Strategy by the Made in Nigeria Project Office

Nigeria’s industrial landscape is dotted with moribund and underutilized factories, once productive assets that have stalled due to funding constraints, poor infrastructure, policy inconsistency, and operational inefficiencies. Reviving these facilities has become a critical priority in the country’s broader industrialization agenda.

A key framework being promoted under this effort is the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) model, leveraged through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) partnerships, and championed by initiatives such as the Made in Nigeria Project Office.

Understanding the BOOT Model in Industrial Revitalization

The BOOT model is a public-private partnership (PPP) structure where:

• Build: An investor finances and reconstructs a dormant or underperforming factory

• Operate: The investor manages operations for a defined concession period

• Transfer: Ownership is eventually transferred back to the government or original owner

In the context of industrial revival, this model allows idle factories to be brought back into production without immediate heavy fiscal burden on the state.

Why Moribund Factories Remain a National Concern

Nigeria’s abandoned industrial assets represent both a challenge and an opportunity. Many of these factories were originally established in strategic sectors such as:

• Agro-processing and food manufacturing

• Textiles and garment production

• Steel and basic metals

• Pharmaceuticals and chemicals

• Assembly and light manufacturing

Their collapse has contributed to:

• Increased import dependence

• Loss of industrial jobs

• Reduced local value addition

• Weak supply chain development

Revitalizing them is therefore central to rebuilding Nigeria’s productive base.

Role of FDI in Factory Rehabilitation

Foreign Direct Investment plays a crucial role in BOOT-based industrial revival by providing:

• Capital for reconstruction and modernization

• Technical expertise and technology transfer

• Efficient management systems

• Access to global supply chains

• Improved production standards and competitiveness

By combining FDI with dormant industrial assets, Nigeria can accelerate reindustrialization without starting from scratch.

The Made in Nigeria Project Office and Industrial Renewal

The Made in Nigeria Project Office supports industrial revitalization by promoting policies and initiatives that encourage local production and investment in domestic manufacturing capacity.

Within the BOOT framework, its role includes:

• Identifying viable moribund factories for revival

• Facilitating investor-government partnerships

• Promoting local content integration in revived industries

• Supporting market access for reactivated production lines

• Linking revived factories to trade expos and export platforms

This helps ensure that revived factories are not only operational but also commercially sustainable.

Economic Benefits of BOOT-Based Factory Revival

Successfully implementing BOOT-driven factory rehabilitation can deliver multiple economic benefits:

• Job creation across industrial value chains

• Increased domestic production and supply capacity

• Reduced import dependency for key goods

• Improved foreign exchange stability

• Expansion of tax and revenue bases

• Strengthened regional industrial clusters

It also enhances investor confidence by demonstrating that industrial assets can be effectively rehabilitated and monetized.

Key Challenges to Implementation

Despite its potential, the BOOT model faces several practical challenges in Nigeria’s industrial context:

• Legal and ownership clarity over dormant assets

• Regulatory uncertainty and policy inconsistency

• Infrastructure deficits (power, logistics, water)

• Financing risks and currency volatility

• Weak enforcement of concession agreements

Addressing these constraints is essential for scaling the model effectively.

Outlook: From Idle Assets to Industrial Engines

Reviving moribund factories through BOOT-based FDI represents a pragmatic pathway to accelerating Nigeria’s industrial transformation. Rather than building entirely new facilities, the approach leverages existing but underperforming assets to fast-track production capacity.

If properly executed, this strategy could reposition Nigeria as a more competitive manufacturing hub, strengthen local value chains, and significantly advance the goals of the Made in Nigeria industrialization agenda.