A Chinese firm, Polaris Mines Limited, is to commit $45 million into the establishment of a steel manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, in what could add to boost the nation’s industrialisation.
Existing steel companies in Nigeria, including Ajaokuta Steel Mill, are in comatose and unable to churn out steel from their factories, leaving the nation dependent...
almost entirely on imported steel for construction and manufacturing purposes, despite the over $5 billion said to have been committed into the company by the government.
Olusegun Jawando, chairman, Lekki Free Zone Development Company (LFZDC), confirms in Lagos the readiness of the Chinese firm to establish the steel company, which is to be located within the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).
Lagos State government and the LFZDC, according to Sola Oworu, the immediate past commissioner for commerce and industry, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese firm giving nod for the establishment of the steel plant.
According to the terms of the MOU, China Polaris Mines will lease 33 hectares of land within the LFTZ with the total investment amount of $45 million to set up the steel factory and supporting facilities.
The total annual revenue from the factory will be $600 million upon its completion, BusinessDay was told, as plans are being firmed up by the firm to get the project started.
Analysts have argued that Nigeria’s quest for industrialisation would remain a mirage if the country continues to depend on imported steel for its industries. They also say that encouraging local manufacturing of steel would in addition to boosting industrial growth, create jobs and thereby reducing high unemployment rate in the economy. Nigeria’s unemployment rate is presently put at 25 percent.
Otori Maliki, president, Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN), believes that the absence of a functional steel manufacturing company in Nigeria stalls industrial development of the nation, saying the Ajaokuta Steel Mill alone has the capacity to absorb 500,000 people if fully operational, but has remained unproductive.
Ajaokuta Steel Mill was conceived to aid the economic transformation of Nigeria, revamp the power sector and facilitate full industrialisation of the country.
Pundits and economic analysts have, however, expressed concern over the failure of successive governments to key into that objective as the country languishes in poverty and backwardness.
They argue that the springboard for Nigeria’s industrialisation and development was, indeed, laid in 1979, when the Ajaokuta Steel Company project
commenced and that if it had been effectively pursued, Nigeria would have been visible in the list of industrialised nations of the world.
commenced and that if it had been effectively pursued, Nigeria would have been visible in the list of industrialised nations of the world.
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