The Chief Executive officer of Dangote refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has put forward a plan to start producing steel soon and stated that he wants to make sure that all of the steel used in West Africa originates in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Dangote during an interview at the ongoing Afreximbank Afro-Caribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, according to Nairametrics.
he noted that the next project after the refinery project would be in Steel manufacturing and ensure that all Steel products used in West Africa comes from Nigeria.
Additionally, he urged African leaders to invest in agriculture and solid minerals, lamenting that food imports contribute to unemployment and poverty on the continent.
He said, “What we need to do that is missing is actually to concentrate and pay more attention to agriculture and solid minerals. I don’t like people coming to take our solid minerals to process and bring the finished product. We should try and industrialise our continent and take it to the next level.”
“I told somebody we are not going to take any break. What we are trying to do is to make sure at least in West Africa, we want to make sure that every single steel that we use will come from Nigeria.”
The country has attempted several times without success to become a leader in the steel manufacturing industry, with failed projects such as the Ajaokuta steel plant, Delta Steel Company, Osogbo, and Jos rolling mills.
President Bola Tinubu’s administration had promised during the election campaign that steel production would start at the Ajaokuta steel complex.
To bring the plant to life for the first time in its history, the federal government budgeted approximately N4.45 billion for the plant in the 2024 appropriation act.
However, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu has also stated that reviving the plant could cost around $2 billion to $5 billion.
The National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency estimates that the nation consumes roughly 10 million metric tonnes of steel annually, of which 70% is imported.
The current Minister of Steel Development had earlier stated that Nigeria spends around $4 billion on steel imports annually despite having around 74 steel plants and fabricators across the country.
