The Territorial Distribution of Industries in Enugu Urban Area of Enugu State, Southeastern Nigeria

This study on the distribution of industries in Enugu urban area was necessitated in order to identify the spatial distribution, factors in the location, and the problems of industrial activities in the area. Management and employees of the industrial plants formed the study population, and survey research design and purposive sampling technique were used. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 84 (30.4%) from the available and registered 276 industrial plants in the area. Again, 196 employees of the sampled 98 industrial plants were purposively selected at the rate of 2 employees from each of them. Thus, 280 respondents were used in this study. Data were collected through the methods of questionnaire, interview, field observation, and documentary materials. Similar questionnaire and interview were prepared and administered on the 2 groups of our respondents, while the field data were analysed using the simple percentage ratio, and especially pie and bar graphs. The results of the analyses indicate that 13 different types of industry are established in the area. They are; bakery, construction, hotel, plastics, textile, oil and gas, block and concrete, auto-mobile, poultry, furniture, education, transport, and iron and steel industries. In the locations of these industrial plants, 7 factors were responsible- availability of transport facilities, market especially the local type, labour, energy resources, resources of space, agglomeration economies, and access to raw materials. Again, this study to identified 9 factors that constitute drawbacks to the activities of industry in the area such as intermittent power supply, inadequate access road, poor market facilities, inadequate material input, shortage of financial capital, inadequate space, labour supply problems, competition from other similar industries in the area, and effects of government policies. In accordance with these findings, it is recommended for development in infrastructural facilities.