Reports in Nigerian media suggest that the Nigerian government has said it will no longer be able to revitalize the Ajaokuta Steel Company in 2022 as it earlier pledged, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Nigeria’s Minister of Mines & Steel Development Mr Olamilekan Adegbite told reporters that “Before the pandemic, the government had successfully convinced Russia, the original builders of the steel complex, to evaluate its status and consider completing the steel facility, but could not proceed with the negotiations due to force-majeure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The deal with Russia involved a USD 2 million fee for technical audit to ascertain the state of the facility before work could begin and that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the payment. We made frantic efforts to continue the negotiations with Russia after the lockdown, but progress was stalled again due to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”Mr Adegbite had said in December 2021 that the technical assessment would be conducted early in 2022. The audit was to check any equipment or processes that could have become obsolete during the more than 40 years the facility has been in existenceThe multibillion-dollar Ajaokuta mill was built by the Soviets between 1979 and the mid-1990s, but has never produced steel as the project was never completed. It was also mismanaged. A concession of the facility India's Global Steel Holdings was terminated and the government said it plans to bring in new investors to take a percentage of the mill's equity.
Reports in Nigerian media suggest that the Nigerian government has said it will no longer be able to revitalize the Ajaokuta Steel Company in 2022 as it earlier pledged, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Nigeria’s Minister of Mines & Steel Development Mr Olamilekan Adegbite told reporters that “Before the pandemic, the government had successfully convinced Russia, the original builders of the steel complex, to evaluate its status and consider completing the steel facility, but could not proceed with the negotiations due to force-majeure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The deal with Russia involved a USD 2 million fee for technical audit to ascertain the state of the facility before work could begin and that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the payment. We made frantic efforts to continue the negotiations with Russia after the lockdown, but progress was stalled again due to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”Mr Adegbite had said in December 2021 that the technical assessment would be conducted early in 2022. The audit was to check any equipment or processes that could have become obsolete during the more than 40 years the facility has been in existenceThe multibillion-dollar Ajaokuta mill was built by the Soviets between 1979 and the mid-1990s, but has never produced steel as the project was never completed. It was also mismanaged. A concession of the facility India's Global Steel Holdings was terminated and the government said it plans to bring in new investors to take a percentage of the mill's equity.
