The Nigerian Government has inaugurated N60 billion (about $380m) integrated steel mill in Shagamu in Ogun State in south-western Nigeria as part of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said that the government was committed to repositioning the steel sector to access a substantial share of the global wealth, estimated at $10tn.

He said with the implementation of the right sectorial policies under the NIRP, the number of functioning steel rolling mills in Nigeria had increased to over 21 currently, from less than five a few years ago.

”Before this administration came on board, we had less than five functioning steel rolling mills and no cold rolled steel mill, but today there are more than 15 functioning steel rolling mills producing reinforced bars; about three functioning cold rolled steel mills producing cold rolled flat sheets; and about three producing or about to commence the production of wire coils. This is a visible evidence that our policies are working,” Aganga said.

According to him, steel is at the heart of any country’s economic development and is one of the most important materials widely used for both domestic and industrial purposes throughout the world, hence the priority given to the sector in the NIRP.

“In addition to accelerating the industrial development of a nation, a vibrant steel sector contributes to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product and exploitation of Nigeria’s abundant natural resources.

“A vibrant steel sector also generates economic activities in downstream industries, creates job opportunities and acquisition of technical skills, helps in the transfer of technology and provision of machine parts and tools. This particular project is being executed with 100 percent locally-sourced raw materials,” he said.

 

Source:http://en.starafrica.com/

 

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