The Federal Government has revealed plans to raise about N35 billion for the Ajaokuta Light Steel mill by through the local financial market.
Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, disclosed this while addressing journalists in the State House, Abuja, after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
The minister further revealed that plans were underway with local financiers, and the finalisation of the arrangements is expected within the next few weeks to ensure a swift commencement of the project.
According to him, the focus of the firm would be on producing iron rods for the administration’s road construction initiative, with the primary objective of generating thousands of jobs in the country.
“The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, has already written a letter through his ministry, guaranteeing that there will be off-takers in the iron rods that are being produced.
“Basically, the precedent is on the Renewed Hope Agenda which the Minister of Works is driving plans to construct about 30,000 kilometres of roads across Nigeria, where they will need about 7 million metric tonnes of iron rods.”
“We can produce about 400,000 tonnes of those iron rods in Ajaokuta if we’re able to restart the steel plant. Mr President gave approval for us to raise money locally,” Audu stated.
The minister also said a joint meeting with the president and the Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, regarding the Ajaokuta Steel plant, focused on the establishment of military hardware, with a Chinese firm demonstrating a robust commitment to the project.
He added that talks were also held about the commitment of a Chinese company at the G20 summit in India. The company has expressed a willingness to invest $5 billion in the steel sector of the economy.
Audu said the president had approved the establishment of a ministerial committee to supervise the implementation of this investment in the country, with members comprising key stakeholders within the government, such as the Ministers of Finance, Trade and Investments, Defence, Solid Minerals, and Steel Development.
