VENTURES AFRICA – The Federal Government of Nigeria has reinstated its commitment to support growth of the steel industry as Western Metal Products Company Limited (WEMPCO) test ran its new multi-billion naira integrated cold roll steel mill at Magboro, Ogun State, Nigeria.
The inauguration of the steel plant will fill in the vaccum that has riddled the Nigerian steel industry following the failure that has been recorded in the past at Ajaokuta.
According to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada, who visited the new integrated steel mill; the Federal Government made a peculiar mistake in its past efforts to privatise the Ajaokuta Steel Complex by putting emphasis on money as the most important consideration in its choice of management team. The Minister said the government will be more careful in future in the choice of the next prospective managers of Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Sada stated that the federal government has a goal that three million tonnes of steel should be produced in Nigeria a year. He said this did not mean that government would revive its plants to do this but “wish to openly invite more investors for development in steel production”.
Government, he stated, would introduce policies that would support and encourage investors in the development of the steel sector.
Some of the downstream usage/ products that can be derived from the mill are automobile/truck body building, roofing sheets, pipes, all kinds of metal containers including food storage, steel furniture, strips, enamelware, storage tanks, electric appliances, washing machines, motor cycles, machinery structure and body, the minister said.
Sada however lamented that the usage of steel in Nigeria is still low compared to countries like China.
“In a country like China for instance, per capital steel consumption is 400 kilogrammes, whereas in Nigeria we are just close to 18 kilogrammes. At the point when this administration came in, the number was 10 kilogrammes. We therefore have a very large gap to fill.”
He posits that steel is the basic metal and backbone of all industries. “It facilitates infrastructural development and promotes creation of employment opportunities. In any country, all aspects of industrialisation require steel.”
The new steel plant according to WEMPCO’s group Managing Director, Lewis Tung, has a production capacity of 700, 000 metric tonnes which will will produce cold roll steel sheets and coils, from 0.15 millimeter thicknesses and above.
Tung said his company is “ready to receive materials from the upstream industry. This is a way to encourage investors to go into the upstream and back stream. The steel industry is the source of employment. Upstream is a source of huge employment opportunities. So also is back stream which accounts for spinoff industries that are not directly related to the steel industry.”
The managing Director also collaborated the Minister’s believe. According to him, “Steel is the basic metal and backbone of all industries. It facilitates infrastructural development and promotes creation of employment opportunities. In any country, all aspects of industrialisation require steel. Thus, steel is very crucial and fundamental to any industrial development and industries should be supported.
“All advanced countries of the world started their industrial revolutions through the development of steel. Similarly, developing nations laid the foundation of their development through steel development capabilities. Nigeria needs to encourage the development of its steel industry in order to foster development drive,” Tung added.
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Abdullahi Abdullateef said on December 9, 2012 [1:53 pm]:
I was a student at Ajaokuta steel coy secondaryschool.when I look at Ajaokuta steel coy from arial veiw I know its potentials. I wept when FG is thinking of selling it.I know that whatever I say does not mean anything to them because FG is enjoying oil money and spending on Ajaokuta will only reduce their share of the oil money they are squandering around. So to them sell it off and let the worried be of someone else.U look at Dubai today and the level of infrastructure they have. They use their oil money to get to infrasture. Their skyscrapers, bridge are build of steel they have to buy from other steel coy cos dubai have no steel. But nigeria God have blessed us with both oil and steel. But because oil give us quick money to spend and we can buy cars from abroad why worried for steel. This result to our infrasture deficit. For Nigeria to develop like dubai FG need to emphasis on the use of steel.be the buyer of your product and u see investor local and foreign will rush in. Ajaokuta will then become not only large employer of labour but an exporter of steel. FG attitude underdevelop nigeria