Jubilation as Ajaokuta Steel Starts Production

Report reaching us this afternoon that some parts of the Ajaokuta Steel company has commenced operation is highly relieving.

This soul lifting news is indicative of more positive expectations from the long abandoned steel project.

BY BANABAS ATTAH-LOKOJA---

Workers of  Ajaokuta Steel company erupted in joy over the weekend  as  the Company commence  production of rods, Per Second News gathered.
 
The steel company established by the Shehu Shagari administration in1981has been operating on skeletal services due to the near abandonment of the project by past administrations, a situation which made the management of the company to be tranversing from one private consultancy company to the other.

But the current operator of the company, Reprom Nig Ltd in its bid  to make a difference over the weekend ordered for some tons of billets, a major raw material for the mass production of rods and angle bars.

Conducting news men round the plant, the managing director of Reprom Nig Ltd, Mr Attah Achimugu said with the arrival of billets the rolling mills which have been abandoned for years will now bounce back to life as it will now be used to produce large scale of rods and angle bar for domestic use and for export purposes.

While lighting the furnace, Achimugu said his company had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Mines and development in March 2013 to render technical services to the company.

He said the MOU was centrallly to reactivate the thermal power plant and the light  Mill section of the company, and stressed that with the arrival of the billets and lighting of the furnace, the steel company was now ready for full production.

He said his company will need atleast 1000 metric tonnes of billet to enable them effectively take off while the steel company is expected to generate over 400,000 assorted finished products annually when completed.