(a) Using specific examples, describe any four factors influencing the location of manufacturing industries in developing countries (b) Outline four problem...

Answer Details

(a) Four factors influencing the location of manufacturing industries in developing countries

• Raw materials: industries that use bulky or perishable raw materials locate near their source, for example cement factories near limestone at Ewekoro and Sokoto.
• Power/energy supply: industries settle where electricity, gas or fuel is available, for example plants sited near the Kainji hydro-power supply.
• Market: firms making bulky or fragile finished goods, or serving many people, locate near large towns, for example breweries and bottling plants in Lagos and Kano.
• Labour supply: labour-intensive industries such as textiles locate in densely populated areas that supply cheap workers, for example textile mills at Kaduna and Kano.
• (Also: transport links, water supply, capital and government policy.)

(b) Four problems of establishing heavy industries in West Africa

• Shortage of capital: heavy industries need huge investment which poor countries cannot easily raise.
• Inadequate power supply: unreliable electricity handicaps large plants.
• Shortage of skilled labour and technical know-how, forcing reliance on costly expatriates.
• Poor infrastructure: inadequate roads, railways, ports and machinery raise costs and delay production. (Also: small/low-purchasing-power market and dependence on imported machinery and spare parts.)

(c) Solutions to the problems

• Raise capital through government funding, foreign investment and loans, and encourage joint ventures.
• Expand and stabilise power supply by building more power stations and improving the grid.
• Train indigenous manpower through technical colleges and industrial training schemes.
• Develop infrastructure (roads, rail, ports) and promote regional economic co-operation (ECOWAS) to enlarge the market.