Ajaokuta Steel plant not obsolete, intact, says management

Against the backdrop of claims in some quarters that Ajaokuta steel plant located in Kogi State, is obsolete, the Sole Administrator of the steel plant, Sumaila Aka’aba has declared that the integrated plant is technically intact.

The sole administrator who stated this at the steel plant on Friday while interacting with journalists in Ajaokuta said that the technical audit carried out in 2018 indicated that the status of the steel plant stood at 93.5 per cent, adding that as at today, the steel industry is ready for rehabilitation work by the Russians.

“Initially, you hear that Ajaokuta steel plant is 98 per cent completion, but today, it has come down to 95.3 per cent which was clearly stated in a 12-volume document we used to discuss with the Russian government when President Muhammadu Buhari visited the country last year.

“It is also the document we used to engage the Russians and they have made proposals on what to do in Ajaokuta Steel Company, and that is why they will be coming to the steel plant to revalidate the technical audit to be sure that our claims on the status of the plant are correct and in order,” he stated.

Aka’aba who also disclosed that the Russians were coming to upgrade and modernise the steel plant, lamented that the restrictions on airspace as a result of Covid-19 pandemic has led to a loss of four months in their arrival plan.

“Hopefully, as soon as the airspace restriction is over, the Russians will come back and do revalidation of the audit report submitted to them to confirm what we said is Ajaokuta steel plant status after four years they left the plant.

“After the revalidation, they can now put pen on paper so that the project proper can commence,” he noted.

Speaking on the issue of obsolesce of some of the equipment in the steel plant as erroneously claimed in some quarters, the sole administrator said that the items used in building the steel plant were of high quality and standard that can be found anywhere in the world.

He added that the steel plant can be upgraded and modernised to suit the present technological advancement.

“The proposal from TPE the original builder of the plant who is representing Russian government is to upgrade, modernize and complete the remaining part of the steel complex for optimum utilisation to enable the two government involved recover their capital investment.”

He commended the staff of the industry for their commitment towards ensuring that the plant maintained its status, Aka’aba, however, assured them that very soon the steel complex would bounce back to life.

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