Geographic Foci of Industries: A Suitability Analysis

Industrial development in the world, especially in developing countries is a prevailing issue with serious emphases on the location of these industries. Finding suitable geographic foci for industries is very important for administrators of firms, investors as well as the government. This geared this study which proffered the most suitable foci for industrial location in Calabar metropolis of Cross River State, Nigeria. In all, data obtained include locations of existing tertiary industries, airport and dumpsite. Also were population figures, pipe-borne water network, topographic, land use and cadastral data (boundaries, roads and rivers). The data analysis was done majorly with Geographic Information System operations (topographic, proximity, overlay and structured queries). Standard physical suitability criteria for siting an industry were considered. The analysis recommended the most suitable geographic foci for industries in the city. The best site deducted from the analysis covers a land area of 2.23sq km, situated at the far eastern corner of the metropolis, by the boundary of the metropolis and Akpabuyo Local Government Area. It was thus recommended that a multi-criteria site selection analysis must be executed for a more precise, effective and sustainable selection of the best site for locating industries in Calabar and elsewhere.