Bitumen reserves in the country have grown to about 42 billion barrels out of which 43 industrial chemicals, including heavy crude petroleum, can be obtained, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, said on Tuesday.
He added that despite the level of reserves, the country spends so much on the import of bitumen for road construction when the country has one of the largest deposits of bitumen natural sand in the world.
The minister said the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) has already carried out research and development towards achieving fully paved roads using local bitumen.
He spoke in Abuja at the NBRRI first virtual international conference with the theme: “Circular economy in the built environment for enhanced performance of the Nigerian construction industry.”