The Ajaokuta Integrated Steel Complex, which was conceptualised in 1979, was designed to include a Metallurgical Process Plant, an Engineering Complex, and several auxiliary facilities.
The Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu is set to spend the sum of N6.21billion for the salaries of workers of the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company between January and December 2025.
This was revealed after a careful review of the proposed 2025 budget.
The media reports that this is an increase of N1.92billion or 44.76 per cent from the N4.29billion allocated in the 2024 budget despite the inability of the company to produce a single sheet of steel since its inception.
The Ajaokuta Integrated Steel Complex, which was conceptualised in 1979, was designed to include a Metallurgical Process Plant, an Engineering Complex, and several auxiliary facilities.
The complex is intended to create significant upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities that are essential for diversifying the economy into an industrial one.
According to its website, the corporation directly employed approximately 10,000 workers during the first phase of commissioning, while the upstream and downstream sectors that would emerge across the country would employ no less than 500,000 people.
The Ajaokuta Steel Plant, properly described as the foundation of Nigeria’s industrialisation, is more than just a rolling mill; it is an Integrated Iron and Steel Plant.
It has four different rolling mills: the billet mill, the light section mill, the wire rod mill, and the medium section and structural mill.
The plant utilises blast furnace technology, which is the most prevalent method for steel production, representing about 70 per cent of global liquid steel production.
By 1994, the plant was estimated to be 98 per cent complete in terms of equipment installation.
While some units of the plant were operational at various times, 40 out of the 43 planned units had been constructed.
However, due to mismanagement, the project remains incomplete over 45 years later.
At the Russia-Africa Summit in 2019, former President Muhammadu Buhari and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a revitalisation of the steel mill with Russian support and project funding from the Afreximbank and the Russian Export Centre.
However, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the agreement was abandoned.
In January 2024, Tinubu opened discussions with a Chinese steel company, Luan Steel Holding Group, to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
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