The Nigerian government is moving to revive the long-dormant Delta Steel Company, with current owners Premium Steel and Mines Limited committing more than $1.3 billion to rehabilitate and modernize the plant.
The company expects to return the facility to commercial production within 18 to 24 months. The revival received a boost on Thursday after the National Iron Ore Mining Company in Itakpe signed a Sub-lease and Operations Agreement with Premium Steel.
The deal is aimed at securing sustainable iron ore supply, one of the key requirements to restart the integrated steel plant and end a decade-long shutdown at the facility.
“The Federal Ministry of Steel Development has signed an agreement aimed at facilitating the revival and full operationalisation of the Delta Steel Company, now known as Premium Steel and Mines Limited,” said a statement released by Salamatu Jibaniya, head of press and public relations at the ministry.
“The agreement marks a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to reposition Nigeria’s legacy steel industry assets as a critical driver of industrialisation, economic diversification, job creation and sustainable national development.”
The government said the project could create about 25,000 direct and indirect jobs.
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Located in Ovwian-Aladja, Delta State, the plant was commissioned in 1982 with installed capacity of 1 million metric tonnes of liquid steel annually but later slipped into prolonged difficulties. It operated at about 25 percent of capacity before shutting down.
In 2005, the government had privatised the company to Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited in an attempt to attract private capital and revive operations.
However, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) subsequently re-sold the company to Premium Steel and Mines Limited in 2015 in a bid to recover unserviceable debts. Since then, the facility has remained inactive as an integrated steel plant.
Under the new arrangement, however, Premium Steel and Mines Limited is expected to invest more than $1.3bn in raw material exploration and exploitation, as well as the rehabilitation and modernisation of the steel complex.
Premium Steel has also committed to restoring the plant to its installed capacity of one million tonnes of liquid steel annually, subject to the availability of sustainable iron ore supplies.
Speaking on the development, Shuaibu Audu, minister of Steel Development, said the planned revival went beyond restarting an abandoned industrial facility, arguing that Nigeria’s broader industrial ambitions depended on its ability to produce critical materials locally.
“The revival of Delta Steel Company is not merely about bringing an old industrial facility back to life.” “It is about restoring Nigeria’s capacity to produce steel locally, creating opportunities for our young people, supporting downstream industries and strengthening the foundation for sustainable industrialisation.”
He said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the administration’s push to expand local manufacturing, create employment and unlock idle productive assets.
