Give an account of the factors that have aided the location of any three of the following (a) Textile mills in Kaduna (b) Oil refinery in Warri (c) Pulp and...

Industrial location is controlled by the pull of raw materials, power, market, labour, transport and government policy. Any three of the following are required.

(a) Textile mills in Kaduna

• Raw material: ready supply of cotton from the surrounding Northern savanna belt (Kaduna, Zaria, Katsina, Kano areas).
• Power: access to electricity from the national grid and nearby Kainji/Shiroro hydro-power.
• Water: the River Kaduna provides the large volumes of soft water needed for washing, dyeing and finishing cloth.
• Labour: abundant cheap labour from the densely populated North.
• Market: large local and national demand for cloth and clothing.
• Transport: the Lagos-Kano railway and trunk roads pass through Kaduna, easing movement of cotton in and cloth out.
• Government policy: deliberate siting of textile industries in the North to develop the region.

(b) Oil refinery in Warri

• Raw material: nearness to the Niger Delta crude-oil fields, so crude is piped over a short distance.
• Transport of product: coastal/creek location gives access to the sea for tanker export and coastal distribution; pipelines link it to depots.
• Water: abundant water from the delta creeks for cooling and processing.
• Land: availability of extensive, cheap swampy land for the large plant and storage tanks.
• Market: supplies petroleum products to the industrial south and beyond.
• Government policy: federal decision to refine crude locally rather than export it all.

(c) Pulp and paper mill in Oku Iboku

• Raw material: location within the rain-forest belt of the Cross River basin supplies timber and fast-growing gmelina plantations for wood pulp.
• Water: the Cross River provides the very large volumes of water pulping and paper-making require, and a means of moving logs.
• Power: supply of electricity from the grid.
• Transport: river and road links for bringing in wood and taking out paper.
• Market: national demand for paper and packaging materials.
• Government policy: siting an import-substitution paper industry to save foreign exchange.

(d) Cement factory in Ewekoro

• Raw material: the factory sits directly on massive limestone deposits, the chief raw material for cement; clay and shale are also locally available.
• Market: nearness to Lagos, Ibadan and Abeokuta, a large and growing construction market.
• Transport: good road and rail links to the coastal cities for distributing the bulky, heavy product.
• Power and labour: grid electricity and available labour from the densely settled south-west.
• Land: availability of land for quarrying and the plant.