Mr Siddique Asema Mohammed chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Steel has reaffirmed the urgent need to resuscitate the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, both in Kogi State.

He said it was essential to bring the steel plant back to life in order to drive the economic and industrial development of Nigeria in line with the transformation agenda of the present administration.

He spoke in Abuja when the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Musa Mohammed Sada, led a delegation of the Ministry in the defense of the 2012 budget.

Mr Mohammed said that funds had to be appropriated for the ministry to operationalize the two vital companies in the steel sector so that the billions of naira spent in establishing them would not be in vain.

He assured the citizens that his committee would make necessary efforts to ensure appropriation of funds to make the two companies operational this year. According to him, when the steel sector is functional, it would have a multiplier effect on other sectors of the nation's economy.

The chairman also noted that a budget proposal of about N3 billion for the Ministry and its agencies’ capital projects and overhead in the year 2012 was grossly inadequate. He said his committee would assist to ensure appropriate funding for the ministry.
In his presentation, Mr Sada stated that the envelope of the ministry's 2012 capital budget was inadequate to meet its targets in the transformation agenda of the present administration. These include increase in per capita consumption of steel, increase in steel and aluminum production.

Consequently, Mr Sada sought the assistance of the committee for improved and better funding of the minerals and metals sector. On the way forward for Ajaokuta Steel and the Itakpe Iron Mining Company, the minister said the National Economic Management Team was already carrying out a Financial and Economic Return on Investment Study on them as directed by president Mr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He added that when the study was completed, the next line of action would follow.

The minister disclosed that work was ongoing on the rehabilitation of one of the iron ore concentrate lines and the super concentrate line at the Itakpe site. To realize the target of increase in steel and aluminum production, he said his ministry was collaborating with private investors. The minister added that efforts were being intensified on research and survey to get bankable information on steel raw materials to grow the metal sector.

In his presentation, Mr Philip Umunnakwe chairman of the Interim Management Committee on Ajaokuta Steel and Itakpe said that the completed sections to be operationalize at the steel plant include the thermal power plant, the rolling mills, the engineering workshop and the metallurgical training centre.

Mr Umunnakwe disclosed that the sum of NGN 2.4 billion would be required to operationalize the already completed sections in the steel plant. He said that the thermal power plant could generate about 110 MWs of electricity when operational.

He assured listeners that any amount of money appropriated and released for some of the completed sections in the 2012 budget to come on stream would not be wasted. He added that such funds would keep the steel plant functional, while salaries and allowances of staff would be paid regularly.

(Sourced from www.thisdaylive.com)