– Targets 10m tonnes by 2030
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rolled out an ambitious blueprint to reposition Nigeria’s long-stalled steel industry as the backbone of the country’s industrialization drive, with new investments exceeding $1.3 billion and a production target of 10 million tonnes of liquid steel by 2030.
Speaking in Abuja at the Inaugural Stakeholders Summit on the Development of the Steel Sector, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the President said his administration is determined to turn decades of missed opportunities into “a future where Nigeria becomes a regional steel powerhouse.”
“For nearly fifty years, we have nurtured the dream of becoming a regional steel powerhouse. We are now ready to make that dream a reality. We are not here to mourn missed opportunities. We are here to make the future,” he said.
At the centre of the plan is the revival of legacy assets including the Ajaokuta Steel Company, the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, the National Iron Ore Mining Company, and Delta Steel Company (now Premium Steel and Mines).
Tinubu revealed that the government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tyazhpromexport and its consortium to rehabilitate and operate both Ajaokuta and the Itakpe iron ore mines.
Other proposals from Chinese and international partners are under review, with a technical and financial audit of Ajaokuta already underway.
In a diversification push, the administration has launched the construction of five mini-LNG plants worth over $500 million in Ajaokuta, in partnership with NNPC Ltd. and private sector players.
The government is also concluding an agreement with the Ministry of Defence to produce military hardware at the Ajaokuta Engineering Workshop, and is developing an Industrial Park and Free Trade Zone in the area.
On aluminium, Tinubu disclosed that a $465 million investment proposal has been submitted to revive the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria in Ikot-Abasi, with a six-year restoration plan under review.
Private capital is also flowing in: Stellar Steel, part of the Inner Galaxy Group, is investing $400 million in a new plant in Ewekoro, Ogun State, to produce hot-rolled coils and plates, a move the President described as “a bold step toward import substitution and value addition.”
The President underscored the employment and industrial ripple effect of the initiative, “We aim to create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. We have already developed a ten-year roadmap for the sector. We have outlined a three-year plan for the operationalisation of Ajaokuta.”
He called on the private sector, academia, and skilled workers to partner with government in delivering the vision:
“Government can lead. But the private sector must invest. Academia must innovate. Skilled workers must emerge.”
Industry leaders at the summit, including the Ministers of Steel Development, Industry, Trade and Investment, Solid Minerals Development, and Transportation, all hailed the plan as a turning point, pledging regulatory reforms, streamlined approvals, and targeted incentives to attract investors.
If executed as planned, the strategy could place Nigeria at the heart of West Africa’s steel supply chain, drastically cut imports, and lay the foundation for broad-based industrial growth.
