A team of 23 Russian engineers who arrived at Ajaokuta Steel Company last Tuesday as part of efforts to revive the moribund industrial hub have commenced extensive assessment of the facility after years of neglect.
The team working alongside local engineers is tasked with identifying areas for improvement and upgrading outdated equipment to ensure effective operations the NTA reported.
Businessday efforts to get further information have remained unanswered. In a WhatsApp message to the minister of Steel Development, Audu Shuaibu, the Minister referred our reporter to his assistant. Whatsapp messages sent since Saturday to the PA have remained unanswered.
Messages and calls to the Sole Administrator (SOLAD) of Ajaokuta, Sumaila Abdul-Akaba have also remained unanswered
However, a staff of Ajaokuta who spoke to BusinessDay on grounds of anonymity said the failure of the SOLAD to respond to our reporters’ findings, could be because the Ministry of Steel Development was responsible for driving the process, while the ASCL were just facilitators, and the SOLAD was being careful not to speak.
“But the truth is that I saw them and I was there. The First Lady came, they came in on Tuesday and had the first project meeting on that same Tuesday and as early as 8 am this morning, they were already at the site.
“They have visited the power plant, the oxygen plant, the Lime plant, wide Rod mill, light section mill and afterwards have conducted another project assessment meeting.”
He further informed me that the Russians will be around till the end of the week or hopefully till the coming week to complete their assessment of the facility.
Meanwhile, BusinessDay findings indicated that the over 30-year moribund Ajaokuta Steel Complex was set to begin production in the Light Mill Furnace of the Complex.
This is even as the minister of Steel, Audu Shuaibu had exclusively revealed to BusinessDay that the ministry, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is on the verge of restarting the Light Steel Mill of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex for the production of iron rods.
BUSINESSDAY recalls that the minister had on Friday, April 26, 2024, informed Nigerians that he had, engaged a consortium led by the original developers of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL), Tyamzhpromexport (TPE), to revive the steel plant.
The minister, who had met with the consortium comprising a team from Russia’s TPE/Rostec, Novostal, and Nigeria’s Proforce in his office on Thursday, 25th April 2024 in Abuja, urged them to put together a blueprint for the revival of the Steel Plant within the shortest possible time.
Meanwhile the Minister, in this exclusive report had informed that “following the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ministry of Steel Development is on the final stages of getting funds to the tune of 35 billion naira from private financiers to restart the Light Steel Mill Section of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant to begin production of iron rods which would be used to build National infrastructure”.
He also informed that the ministry had entered a partnership with the federal Ministry of Works
According to Shuaibu “The Ministry of Steel Development has entered into a partnership with the Federal Ministry of Works under the leadership of, Senator David Umahi. The Ministry of Works would be the off-takers of the iron rods which would be used for road constructions across the country and building of other infrastructure”
He also revealed that the Ministry of Steel Development has also entered into an MoU with the Ministry of Defence to restart the Engineering Workshop of Ajaokuta Steel Plant for the production of Military hardware which would also help in the nation’s fight against insecurity
Meanwhile, the minister had again reiterated that while thirty-five billion naira (N35b) is required to revive the light-steel Mill Section of the Ajaokuta Steel Plan, between two to five billion dollars ($2-5b) is required to revitalize the entire Ajaokuta Steel Plant
Reacting to the potential of getting the Light Steel Mill up and running, Umar A. Hassan, Ph.D, president, of the Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers, and Vice President, of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society said the light mill furnace has a production capacity of 400,000 tonnes of steel products.
According to Hassan “The proposed plan to operationalise the Light Section Mill will facilitate the addition of 400,000 tonnes of production capacity of Round, Square, Hexagonal and Angle Steel products valued about N400trillion. Even if 50% of this capacity is utilized, the plant will be in a position to produce steel products worth about N200 trillion, create jobs and other economic activities associated with the production of these products, as well as conserve foreign exchange that would have been used to import these products.
Hassan who is the immediate past director general of the National Steel Materials Exploration Agency, Kaduna, said operationalization of some of the units will also catalyse local production of steel raw materials and the establishment of Modula Steel plants for local liquid steel production needed to produce steel billets required by the light Section of Ajaokuta Steel Plant.
He listed the benefits of the operationalization of some of the completed Units of Ajaokuts Steel plants including ensuring productivity in the Ajaokuta steel plant against the non-utilisation of these units to produce steel products as well as making the Ajaokuta Steelworkers earn their salaries instead of being paid for just maintaining units that could be made to produce needed steel products.
Meanwhile, Mohammed B Attah, national coordinator, of CSO Coalition for The Revival of Ajaokuta, also confirmed the sectional revival, stating that “In recent times civil society has been engaging with government to ensure that the original builders of Ajaokuta, the Russians are returned and the government is already working in that direction.
“We are aware that they have had series of meetings with the Russians and we are also aware that the Russians have come to Nigeria and have done a lot to see to the reviving that place so that is in place and we are in touch with some people in authority and know that, production will start very soon”
He stated that the section that will be producing rods is the light Mill Furnace. This was active in the 80s when ASC was alive and working
The Rod production in Ajaokuta will help greatly in reducing the high cost of building materials, road construction, bridges and several economic conditions. It will be a good turnaround for Nigeria’s economic challenges in terms of the availability of heavy and light-duty building needs.
“As a group of CSOs advocating for the revival of the steel company, this is one development that will excite the members and Nigerians in general. The expectations have been long and any such development now will be a good boost for the Nigeria economy” Attah said
Also, exclusive information glimpsed from a Document Tagged “CONTRIBUTIONS OF AJAOKUTA STEEL COMPANY LIMITED TO KEY DELIVERABLES OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU GCFR” assessed by BusinessDay, informed that the development of the plant is still in the first phase even though some of the facilities for common services for the three phases are in place.
“The present phase is estimated to be over 98% technically ready as of 1994; that is by the weight of equipment and Steel Structures as per the original design have been erected before the Global Contract with TPE was determined in 1996”.
