Ajaokuta Steel Company to resume production
By
Aug 18, 2003, 19:08

The Ajaokuta Steel Company, which was established in 1979 and has cost the Federal Government more than five billion dollars, is set to start operating in the next five months.

As part of its preparations to start production, the Company will recruit 4,800 new workers in addition to the 4,200 staff members it already has.

To renovate and reactivate the steel complex, the Federal Government, last June, signed a $3.6billion contract with Solgas Energy Limited. Solgas is a United States (US) company with subsidiary offices in Nigeria. The IBM Global, which will soon arrive the country, will be in charge of project management.

When the Ajaokuta Steel Company was conceived in 1979, engineers from the former USSR handled its construction. At the time, it was expected to produce 1.3 million tonnes of liquid steel per annum. But the plant fell short of this original goal, forcing the Federal Government to discontinue its contract with the Russian engineers and to go into a fresh agreement with Solgas.

The reactivation of the Ajaokuta complex will also involve the installation of an independent power plant that will initially generate 300 megawatts of power, which will later be increased to 700 megawatts.

Related Story:

FG signs $3.6 billion Ajaokuta deal

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