Ajaokuta Steel Mill

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) popularly known as Ajaokuta Steel Mill is a steel mill in Nigeria, located in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, Nigeria.[1] Built on a 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) site starting in 1979,[1] it is the largest steel mill in Nigeria, and the coke oven and byproducts plant are larger than all the refineries in Nigeria combined.[2] However, it has never produced any steel, and it is non-operational as of December 2017.[2]

History

The project was undertaken by the Soviet Union under a cooperation agreement with Nigeria. In 1967, Soviet experts recommended prospecting for iron ore in Nigeria, as the known deposits were of poor quality for steelmaking. In 1973, iron ore of the required quality was discovered in Itakpe, Ajabanoko, and Oshokoshoko. The Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited was incorporated in 1979, and the steel mill reached 98% completion in 1994.[2] To supply the Ajaokuta Steel Mill with raw materials and connect it with the world market, a contract was awarded in 1987 for the construction of Nigeria's first standard gauge railway, from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steel mill at Ajaokuta and continuing to the Atlantic Ocean at Warri.[3]

However, both project have been mismanaged and remain non-operational more than three decades later. The Ajaokuta Steel Mill has not produced a single sheet of steel as of December 2017, even though 40 of the 43 plants at the facility had been completed.[2] After several failed attempts at privatisation, the Nigerian government took back control in 2016.[4] The railway was incomplete as of August 2017, and the line has been vandalised between Itakpe and Ajaokuta. The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, which completed the Abuja–Kaduna Standard Gauge Railway, has been engaged to repair the Itakpe–Ajaokuta–Warri Railway for operation in June 2018.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Robson, Lorna (2005). Nigeria. London: Evans Brothers. p. 27. ISBN 9780237527563.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Oluyole, Francisca (26 December 2017). "How Nigeria's Largest Industrial Project Failed". Premium Times (Abuja).
  3. 1 2 "Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line to start operation in June 2018 - Rotimi Amaechi". Vanguard News. 7 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Ownership crisis ends, Nigeria retakes Ajaokuta Steel Company". Premium Times Nigeria. 1 August 2016.
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