Managing Director of African Industries Group of Companies, Mr. Alok Gupta, Monday, said the company’s $600 million Integrated Steel Plant will be Nigeria’s biggest non-oil foreign direct investment, FDI.

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He said the new plant will boost the nation’s economy and lead to the mining of 5.4 million tons of iron ore in the country.

He also said about 36Mw power plant will be constructed from the waste heat recovered from the plant, which will be partly used for captive consumption.

Gupta made the disclosures when the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, visited the project site in Kagarko, Kaduna State.

According to him, the firm will open the first phase of the plant by December 2020.

His words: “We will produce 5.4 million tonnes of iron ore, to mine ore to produce high grade concentrate with the subsequent manufacturing into pellets, and finally in the immediate short iron, DRI.

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“The DRI will be used to make steel billets and will avoid our need to import the same. We are also building a 36Mw power plant from the waste heat recovered in the process, which will be partly used for captive consumption.

“Investment of approximately $600 million will be the largest non-oil FDI VIO Nigeria and will serve as a catalyst for the development of the solid minerals sector by attracting other major investors.

“The project will eliminate the need to import steel billets thereby saving scarce foreign exchange.”

The Minister

In his address, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said the Federal Government will support the investors behind the $600 million integrated steel plant.

He also said government will, henceforth, ask investors in the mining sector to develop site communities to avoid a repeat of the crisis in the Niger Delta.

His words: “It is part of our mandate to encourage investment in mining and steel development, which this group has started.

“My visit here is to encourage this investment and also to urge them to do this as quickly as possible to bring the obvious benefits, first to the community where it belongs.

“This government is particularly interested in not making the mistakes we made in the Niger Delta; when the oil investment started, the communities were not taken along.”

Kaduna government reacts

Speaking, Chief of Staff of the Governor of Kaduna, Muhammed Abdullahi, said the state is “highly elated to welcome the investment and added that the government of the state is in talks with the company for further investments.

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He said: “As the MD has mentioned, this is perhaps the single largest investment in the country that is non-oil related today, $600m is a lot of money and a huge investment. For us in Kaduna, this marks our second large investment, the first is the Olam farms which is a $350m investment and is just down the road from this investment.

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