Ajaokuta steel firm to begin production before year end

Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State is set to begin production before the end of the year following the arrival of billets for the Light Section Mill (LSM).

Managing Director of REPROM, Achimugu Attah, technical partner of Ajaokuta steel plant, disclosed this while receiving the first batch of over 100 billets at the steel complex.

He said: “One of the major items we have been waiting for to enable us light the blast furnace is the billets which have started arriving into the company. We will continue to stockpile the billets until we have appreciable quantity of 5,000 before we can join hands with the management of Ajaokuta Steel Complex to light the furnace to commence  commercial production before the end of the year.

“We are sourcing for the billets locally and internationally through our partnership with Greener Nations Foreign Economic Corporation.

“The journey of the production of iron wroths at the LSM section of the rolling mill started in March 2013 with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the management of the steel plant and REPROM.

“Part of the MoU was to also rehabilitate Thermal Power Plant and the Light Section Mill to enable the two segment of the company commences commercial operation.”

Also speaking, the Sole Administrator of the steel complex, Isah Osobere, said the arrival of the billets would pave the way for trial production before the commencement of commercial production.

Osobere, who was represented by the company’s Deputy General Manager in charge of material management, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi, said Reprom had fulfilled the MoU signed with the steel company, urging the staff of the steel complex to brace up for full operation.

Osobere, however, commended the Minister of Steel and Mineral Development, Alhaji Musa Sada for supporting the company to come back to operation.

Earlier, the Deputy General Manager, Light Section Mill of the steel plant, John Bello, said all the machines in the LSM were in order and ready to commence trial production.

According to him, the REPROM will fund the production activities in line with the MoU, adding that the LSM has the capacity to produce 405,000 metric tons of assorted finished products annually.