TheCable

The federal government says the Ajaokuta steel plant will be run on a build-operate-transfer concession contract after it has been resuscitated.

This was contained in a statement signed by Willie Bassey, director of information at the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, on Monday.

The statement announced the inauguration of the Ajaokuta presidential project implementation team (APPIT) to kick start the process of bringing the steel plant back to life.

Boss Mustapha, the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), was appointed as the chairman of the team.

The team is expected to engage in all bilateral negotiations on behalf of the federal government leading to the execution of the government-to-government agreement with Russia and the Afreximbank.

It will also ensure timely commissioning of the plant within a period agreed by all parties.

“The Ajaokuta steel plant has languished in economic unproductivity for about four decades and previous efforts at reviving it had proved abortive,” Mustapha said.

“This has resulted in avoidable massive foreign exchange losses at an intolerable opportunity cost to the country.

“The pressing need to redress these avoidable challenges has necessitated this presidential intervention at this time. This is further underscored by difficulties being witnessed with present challenges in the global oil industry.”

According to Mustapha, the steel plant has the opportunity to become West Africa’s largest fully integrated producer and accelerate industrialisation in steel-related industries.

Mustapha had said the project is “to be resuscitated on the basis of a government-to-government agreement with funding from the Afreximbank and the Russian Export Centre”.