$1.5 bn Ajaokuta Steel complex gets 2022 completion date »

All things being equal, the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company will begin full production in 2022.

To this end, the Minister of Mines and Steel, Olamilekan Adegbite, has said the Russian Government, through the Russian Export Centre and the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), is expected to commit $1.465bn to the company’s revitalization.

The minister disclosed this in Lagos on Wednesday at an interactive session with journalists on developments in the mines and steel sector of the economy, adding that Ajaokuta steel was between 95 and 98 per cent completion.

He further revealed that the Federal Government was expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia along with the two organizations – Russian Export Centre and Afrexim bank – by the end of this month.

According to him, while Afreximbank would provide $1bn, the Russian Export Centre would make $460m available to complete the long moribund project in the next two years.