Infrastructural Facilities and Industrial Development: An Empirical Investigation in the Lagos Region

Abstract

Abstract Subject and purpose of work: Investment in infrastructural facilities has the capacity to create an enabling environment to stimulate business and industrial activities. Nevertheless, there are a few studies on the impact of infrastructural facilities on industrial development in developing countries. The main aim of this study is to investigate the impact of infrastructural facilities on industrial development in Lagos State, Nigeria. Materials and methods: One hundred and three questionnaires were administered to the selected companies through the use of multi-stage sampling techniques across the industrial zones. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics while ANOVA, Stepwise Regression, and correlation were used to investigate the research hypothesis. Results: The research shows that the impact of infrastructure on research and development is poor, while the infrastructural impact on the ease of production is averagely significant. Using Stepwise regression, the study revealed that ease of production (89.7%), productivity (1.1%), and industrial expansion (1.5%) were the major areas of industrial development that were positively impacted while research and development and workers’ morale were not positively impacted. The result of Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient shows that a relationship exists between infrastructural facilities and industrial development of the Lagos region (r= 0.880; p-value=0.000) at 0.05 level of significance. Conclusions: The study concluded that adequacy of infrastructural facilities positively enhances and boosts the industrial potential of the study area.