‘ALSCON Needs $500m To Restart Operations’

UC Rusal, core investor and management of the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), at Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has expressed the hope of a restart of operations stalled for 10 years by abrupt stoppage of gas supply by the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC).

LEADERSHIP checks revealed that the firm, which had invested over $400 million Dollars in ALSCON, before it went under, would need about $500 million Dollars, to recommence operations as the production infrastructure still remains functional despite the one decade of inactivity.

The company, it was learnt, temporarily closed shop in 2013, following inadequate gas supply by the NGC, which reportedly breached the gas supply agreement with the core investor, UC Rusal.

Addressing a press conference at his office at Ikot Abasi LGA on Thursday, the managing director Dmitriy Zaviyalov, said that the company is committed to restarting production, as the management was presently engaging the federal government in the negotiation process for a restart.

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, he assured, was working assiduously towards ensuring the firm resume operations following several meetings and negotiations.

On the legal issues surrounding the ownership of the ALSCON, he explained that ALSCON has never been a party to the Supreme court judgement which ruled in favour of BFIG on the 26th of January, 2024, adding that it has secured judgement from the London Court of Arbitration that ALSCON was properly privatised.

He said: “You should understand that ALSCON is not a party to these suites in question. The Bureau of Public Enterprise approached the Supreme Court taking the BFIG to Court.

“BPE is the representative of the Nigeria government that holds a small stake in ALSCON. Equally, you should understand that in our agreement with the Nigeria government, we agreed that the last court of arbitration will be the London Court of Arbitration.

“After the ruling of the Supreme Court, we approached the London Court of Arbitration and the court ruled in our favour, so we have the ruling from the London Court that ALSCON was properly privatised,” he stressed.