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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. Built on a 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) site starting in 1979, it is the largest steel mill in Nigeria, and the coke oven and by-products plant are larger than all the refineries in Nigeria combined. However, the project was mismanaged and remains incomplete more than 45 years later. Three-quarters of the complex have been abandoned, and only the light mills have been put into operation for small-scale fabrication and the production of iron rods. In 2024, the Nigerian government began trying to engage Chinese partners for a revitalization of the mill.
A feasibility study for the production of steel was first awarded to the British and later undertaken by the Soviet Union under a cooperation agreement with Nigeria. By 1967, Soviet experts recommended prospecting for better quality iron ore. The National Steel Development Authority (NSDA) was established in 1971, which led to the discovery of commercial iron ore in Itakpe, Ajabanoko, and Oshokoshoko in 1973 and the planning of the Ajaokuta plant.
In 1979, the government of President Shehu Shagari created by decree Ajaokuta Steel Company, Delta Steel Company, and three rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos, and Katsina.
Construction of the Ajaokuta steel complex also commenced in 1979 under Shagari and reached 84% completion by the time of his removal from office in the 1983 coup d'état.
To supply the Ajaokuta Steel Mill with raw materials and connect it with the world market, a contract was awarded in 1987 to construction company Julius Berger for the construction of Nigeria's first standard gauge railway, from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steel mill at Ajaokuta. An extension continuing to the Atlantic Ocean at Warri was later added. However, like the steel mill, the railway project was mismanaged.
The steel mill reached 98% completion in 1994, with 40 of the 43 plants at the facility having been built.
In 2002, the Nigerian government under Olusegun Obasanjo concessioned the project to Japanese Kobe Steel in an attempt at revitalization, however without much success. In 2004, the project was again transferred, this time to Ispat Steel. The deal was financed by Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited (GIHL), which is chaired by Indian steel magnate Pramod Mittal.
The Umaru Musa Yar'Adua administration terminated the GIHL concession in 2008 after the government accused GIHL of asset-stripping.
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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. Built on a 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) site starting in 1979, it is the largest steel mill in Nigeria, and the coke oven and by-products plant are larger than all the refineries in Nigeria combined. However, the project was mismanaged and remains incomplete more than 45 years later. Three-quarters of the complex have been abandoned, and only the light mills have been put into operation for small-scale fabrication and the production of iron rods. In 2024, the Nigerian government began trying to engage Chinese partners for a revitalization of the mill.
A feasibility study for the production of steel was first awarded to the British and later undertaken by the Soviet Union under a cooperation agreement with Nigeria. By 1967, Soviet experts recommended prospecting for better quality iron ore. The National Steel Development Authority (NSDA) was established in 1971, which led to the discovery of commercial iron ore in Itakpe, Ajabanoko, and Oshokoshoko in 1973 and the planning of the Ajaokuta plant.
In 1979, the government of President Shehu Shagari created by decree Ajaokuta Steel Company, Delta Steel Company, and three rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos, and Katsina.
Construction of the Ajaokuta steel complex also commenced in 1979 under Shagari and reached 84% completion by the time of his removal from office in the 1983 coup d'état.
To supply the Ajaokuta Steel Mill with raw materials and connect it with the world market, a contract was awarded in 1987 to construction company Julius Berger for the construction of Nigeria's first standard gauge railway, from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steel mill at Ajaokuta. An extension continuing to the Atlantic Ocean at Warri was later added. However, like the steel mill, the railway project was mismanaged.
The steel mill reached 98% completion in 1994, with 40 of the 43 plants at the facility having been built.
In 2002, the Nigerian government under Olusegun Obasanjo concessioned the project to Japanese Kobe Steel in an attempt at revitalization, however without much success. In 2004, the project was again transferred, this time to Ispat Steel. The deal was financed by Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited (GIHL), which is chaired by Indian steel magnate Pramod Mittal.
The Umaru Musa Yar'Adua administration terminated the GIHL concession in 2008 after the government accused GIHL of asset-stripping.
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