Nigeria has inaugurated a US$380mn integrated steel mill in Shagamu, Ogun State as part of the country’s industrial revolution plan (NIRP)
The steel mill was built by the Standard Metallurgical Company (SMC), and is ranked one of the largest private sector investments in Nigeria’s steel sector.
The establishment of Phase-I of the SMC steel mill and the ground-breaking of Phase-II of the project would complement SMC’s existing investments in the agri-business sub-sector of the country.
According to Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade, industry and investment in Nigeria, the government was committed to repositioning Nigeria’s steel sector as a substantial share in global wealth, estimated at US$10 trillion.
”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 nearly three producing or about to commence the production of wire coils. This is visible evidence that our policies are working,” he said.
Aganga stated that steel was at the heart of a country’s economic development and is widely used for industrial and domestic purposes.
