Revamping Ajaokuta Steel Plant

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By Musa Tanimu Nasidi

This reporter alongside Ahmad Idris, Aljazeera International’s correspondent, on Saturday, were on a facility tour of the Ajaokuta Steel Company. Musa Tanimu Nasidi writes;

It could be recalled that during his working visit to Kogi State, in 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan, gave the people of the Kogi state and indeed all Nigerians cheering news that Ajaokuta steel plant was dear to his heart and that during his tenure the steel plant will commence full production.

The former president was quoted during the visit: “Ajaokuta steel plant is the bedrock of the nation’s industrialisation. I want to assure the good people of Kogi State that my administration is committed to the timely completion of the steel plant to serve the purpose that it was establish to serve as the bedrock of the nation development in 1979”.

Like other leaders before him the rest was history

With newly appointed sole Administrator for Ajaokuta Steel Company, by the federal Government, Engineer Sumaila Abdul Akaba, it seems there’s light at the tunnel.

Speaking with this reporter in his office, Engineer Akaba explained that to commence full-scale production of liquid steel and other associated materials in Ajaokuta Steel Company, its management recently undertook the technical audit of the company which according to him took them three months to complete, the result of which brought about revamping of Thermal Power Plant (TPP) which is put to use.

“The Thermal Power Plant is currently serving the energy needed in the entire plant,” he said.

In contrast to what is believed by many that the company is moribund, the steel plant is not moribund as most of the equipment are still in workable conditions

This reporter observed that mechanically, the equipment inside the steel plant are generally in good conditions, but some facilities are deteriorating and most be replaced or upgraded.

The Sole Administrator further explained that the technology use in the establishment of the steel plant is based on the age-long steel making tradition of blast furnace such as basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and it is being developed on the backward integration system. He added that a number of the completed units of the steel plant have been put into use between 1983 and 2008 and these units have contributed positively to the economy of the nation.

According to him: “The total world crude steel production as at December 2012 was 1.5billion tonnes and 70 per cent was produced through the basic oxygen furnace technology, the blast furnace, so if as at December 2012 the world crude steel production of about 70 per cent was achieved through this technology then the technology in Ajaokuta remains the most acceptable and applied technology in iron making process which has the capability of process even the least acceptable grades of iron ore and it’s quite flexible in operation”.

Engineer Akaba further stated that notwithstanding the long years of partial operation of the steel plant, the technical readiness already achieved has not diminished significantly as preservation of equipment and facilities are constantly undertaken, stressing that equipment and facilities in the plant are robust, rugged and designed with 25 per cent safety factor such as similar plants in Russia and Ukraine that have been in operation for over 100 years.


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