Premium Steel to gulp $220m to become fully operational

Premium Steel and Mines Limited (PSML), formerly known as Delta Steel Company located in Ovwian-Aladja, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, will gulp about $220 million to become fully operational.

CEO of Stallone Group, operator of PSML, Anant Badjatya, said this last Thursday when he led other top management teams of the charity arm of the firm, Stallion Empowerment Initiative, on tour of facilities in the Premium Technical High School and Premium Hospital.

Badjatya, who also announced the donation of N120 million for the upgrade of the Premium Technical School and Hospital, said the steel company would employ thousands of youths when fully operational.

“Thousands of unemployed youths would be mopped up from the labour market once the resuscitation programme is completed,” Badjatya said.

He, therefore, called on the host communities to continue supporting PSML, as the company was determined to break-even to change the narrative towards a more productive steel development in Nigeria.

He added that the rolling mill was fully operational and the company was in advanced stages for the next phase of investment to restart the SMS which would start producing billets locally once it comes on-stream.

“I am happy to announce to you that the mill has started rolling billets into rods. As we speak to you, four ships have already brought in raw materials and work is going on smoothly. Right now more than five hundred employees are working there

“We are going to do a lot of investment in the mill in the next one and half years and the company will be bubbling with various activities,” Badjatya said.

The Stallion Group CEO, accompanied by other members of the Stallion Empowerment Initiative including Arpita Roy Luthra and John Iyalla commended the CEO PSML Prasanta Mishra for resuscitating the steel plant.

On the donation, Badjatya said the amount would be used for the upgrade of the infrastructures and other facilities urgently needed both at the school and the hospitals.

Badjatya, who expressed satisfaction with the academic performance of the school, commended the staff and students for their excellent conduct during the visit.

‘’The schools and hospitals are doing incredibly well and all we want to do is to intervene in areas of need so as to boost the infrastructural demands of the facilities.”

On the donation to the Premium Hospital, the Stallion Group’s team said it would purchase ambulances, X-ray machines, Laboratory, Ultra-sound machines and other critical equipment required for an excellent discharge of services in the health facility to staff and residents of the area.

Badjatya said the pharmacy and other sections of the hospital would receive attention from the fund, which he said was the first phase of funds to be released for infrastructure development in the company none-core sector.

The principal of DSC Technical High School, Joseph Sido, and chief medical director, Olusegun Joshua of Premium Steel and Mines Hospital, in their remarks, thanked the Stallion Empowerment Initiative team for the visit and the generous donation.