The Nigerian government plans to kickstart the commencement of the Light Steel Mill section of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant in Kogi State with an estimated cost of N30 billion.
Shuaibu Audu, minister of steel development, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.
According to him, a three-year roadmap has been developed to resuscitate the moribund Ajaokuta steel plant in Kogi.
Audu noted that when the LSM is completed, it will be able to produce 50,000 metric pounds of iron rods.
He said data on technical analysis and evaluation by experts showed that the government requires between $2 billion and $5 billion to revive the entire Ajaokuta Steel Company.
“What we plan to do is start the Light Steel Mill, or LSM section, which will cost us about N35 billion to be able to produce 50,000 metric pounds of iron rods.
“Discussions are ongoing with the ministers in charge of Defence and Interior in collaboration with Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to revive its engineering workshop to produce military hardware for the military,” he said.