By Martha Agas

Nigeria is set to host its first National Steel Summit to rebuild and unlock the country’s steel potential.

The summit is expected to position Nigeria as a leading steel hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and significantly boost the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuiabu Abubakar, revealed this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja, ahead of the summit.

The summit with the theme `Rebuilding and Consolidating Nigeria’s Steel Industry: Collaborative Action for Sustainable Growth and Global Competitiveness` is scheduled to hold from July 16 to 17 in Abuja.

Abubakar said the summit would provide a platform for stakeholders in the sector to appraise the current status of the industry and explore investment opportunities.

He said they would also identify policy and infrastructure gaps and adopt a common roadmap for the revival and sustainable growth of Nigeria’s steel sector.

According to him, stakeholders will have a common platform to discuss areas of mutual collaboration, especially in market promotion and shared infrastructure to boost competitive production.

He said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu was determined to ensure the emergence of a virile steel industry in Nigeria, especially given the country’s abundant raw materials available in commercial quantities nationwide.

He explained that the government’s mandate includes repositioning the sector to reduce heavy imports by promoting local processing, as well as strengthening the industry’s presence in local and international markets.

The minister added that the summit would further guide the government on its mandate to set and monitor standards for steel products to prevent structural failures in Nigeria’s construction sector.

“The present Renewed Hope Administration of President Bola Tinubu is already pushing the right buttons to ensure the emergence of a virile steel industry in Nigeria along these key mandate instructions.

“That there is utilisation of the abundant steel raw materials in Nigeria for the substitution of imported steel products which has been draining our foreign exchange to the tune of over 4billion US dollars per annum.

“That we enthrone a regulatory regime that would ensure sustainable Steel and Non-Ferrous Metals production in Nigeria for both local and international markets.

“That we set and monitor quality standards for local and foreign steel products to eradicate structural failures in different construction projects in Nigeria.

“This will generate massive employment for our teeming youths and promote technology transfer for Nigeria’s economic development,” he said.

According to him, in the past 20 months, the Tinubu administration is already recording notable milestones, vigour in the resuscitation of the assets such as the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) and the National Iron Ore Mining Company.

He explained that the government has awarded a contract for the technical and financial audit of the ASLC, which has already commenced.

He said the report was expected to determine the exact current state of the Ajaokuta company and the resources required to revive it after more than 20 years in a comatose state.

Abubakar noted that the Tinubu`s administration was implementing economic policies which was renewing investors’ confidence in the sector.

He said that this has led to the Stellar Steel Company Limited committing investment of 400million US dollars for the establishment of steel facility for the production of hot rolled coils/plates.

Similarly, he said, the Orbit Fabrication/Galvanising Works Limited had unveiled a 50,000 tonnes galvanising plant valued at about $100million amongst other new investments into the sector.

According to the minister, the technical sessions and panel discussions during the event will examine critical areas of the industry from diverse perspectives, including requirements to resuscitation of the country’s legacy steel projects.

The minister stated that repositioning the steel industry would have a multiplier effect on Nigeria’s economy, benefiting sectors such as construction, automobile and manufacturing, among others. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Gabriel Yough