The federal government has declared its readiness to explore and encourage local content in developing the steel sector towards the maximum utilisation of the nation’s ore in line with the present administration’s keenness to grow the sector minister of state for steel development.
The minister of state for steel development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu,
stated this when he appeared on a breakfast show on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), “Good Morning Nigeria” on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Also on the show was a representative of India Steel Company, Jindal Steel Nigeria, Mukesh Sharma, who expressed his company’s readiness to build a world class Deep Sea Port Steel Plant in Nigeria worth over $5 billion.
In a statement signed by Tine-Iulun M.A. of the Press & Public Relations Department of the ministry, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, noted that it was very crucial to focus on strategies that will promote local participation and investment in the steel industry with a view to reducing the country’s dependence on imports, creating employment opportunities, and boosting economic growth, adding that the importance of the steel sector to any nation’s infrastructural development cannot be overemphasised.
According to him, the Nigerian steel sector has faced numerous challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, policy inconsistencies, and limited access to finance and technology, which, he said, have hindered the sector from reaching its full potential, and making the country continue to rely heavily on imported steel products.
He, however, disclosed that the federal government through the Ministry of Steel Development is engaging various proactive strategies to ensure encouragement of both local and foreign participation in the sector for the development of the country.
He enumerated the strategies the ministry is employing to include policy support, access to finance, technology transfer and capacity building, infrastructure development, and research and development, among others.
According to him, these strategies, when fully actualised, would bring a positive leap to the industry.
“It is imperative to prioritise policies and initiatives that promote local participation and investment in the steel industry, as implementing these strategies outlined would help to harness the full potential of the nation’s steel sector and contribute to the country’s industrialisation and economic development,” he said.
The minister reiterated the ministry’s commitment to the effective position of Nigeria as a prime investment destination, by fostering partnerships that are poised to drive sustainable economic development and prosperity in the country.
The executive secretary/CEO, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, Aisha Rimi, who also appeared on the programme, assured of the Commission’s commitment to ensure all assistance is given to the steel sector to promote direct foreign investment into the country.
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