lagbaja: This is a cheery news for only those who don't understand the steel industry. There are dozens of Nigerian companies already producing rods and angles bars from recycled iron and billets, (sun ands sand, metafric, Phoenics et all). Ajaokuta coming out to celebrate Converting billets to rods is a shameful act. The company was designed to produce billets from iron ore for other smaller companies. They can't compete in their new found venture. This news is a political statement in preparation for 2015.

A million thanks to you,I'm happy we still have right thinking individuals here on NL,you just said it all in few sentences...we should be crying,this development doesn't call for celebration at all.

Ezeibe: We will surely get there..... God bless nigeria

I love people with positive mind set as urs.
God bless you too.

Stale cries of joy..$billions stolen and 40 years later. It is jumping for joy on top fibroid pregnancy. Wempco and other local steel factories are even exporting. Even baba toiheeb at Orile can match ajaokuta steel production rod for rod. Anyway better for the nation maybe proposed auto factories can key into this.

yomip3t: I just hope this is true. The last first time I was there in 2011. I wept for my dear country.
This is indeed a failed nation. We have all what is takes to be a gaint and to become a developed nation but our bad leaders and corrupted minds have killed everything.

My dear, even now I still weep because I grew up in Itakpe and trust me, I have always prayed for God to fix Nigeria. Soon, I 'LL BE THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA AND MAKE THINGS RIGHT. The steel complex has suffered, I remember when her workers were not payed for ,13 months. Jeez, some politicians are wicked

Na lie o........ No b only rod na plastic. D fact is false.

Yomieluv: After years of been used as a conduit pipe to siphon money,finally someone did the right thing by allowing it to function.

GEJ on point.

I've run out of words to describe this progressive administration. Very good job by President Jonathan and his team. Just imagine if all the previous govts had been like this. By now we'd be vying with the likes of Japan and South Korea!!

UmecheMoses:
My dear, even now I still weep because I grew up in Itakpe and trust me, I have always prayed for God to fix Nigeria. Soon, I 'LL BE THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA AND MAKE THINGS RIGHT. The steel complex has suffered, I remember when her workers were not payed for ,13 months. Jeez, some politicians are wicked

DSC workers have not been paid for 3 years now!

omenka: Are you sure you are okay?? Or did you mean to quote someone else??

Sorry. It was a mistake I was only talking to someone else.

This is long over due,even though the source can mot be reliable I am still very optimistic that the company is still a viable prpject

tomakint: This news better be true @ Op, quote your source please I mean the url link.

its not a new thing.de HV bn producing it for a long time .my dad worked in DAT section of d industry before his retirement.infact his house was built with d steel.wat d steel industry was originally planned for is what we r stil awaiting d fed govt to begin wc is Mass production of liquid steel dat will supply both local and international automobile industries.if things wr alright in DAT industry am sure it will solve like 50% of unemployment in dis country. happy to say I have bn to DAT part shown on d pix several times wn I was in secondary skol (SS2)

ozo13: its not a new thing.de HV bn producing it for a long time .my dad worked in DAT section of d industry before his retirement.infact his house was built with d steel.wat d steel industry was originally planned for is what we r stil awaiting d fed govt to begin wc is Mass production of liquid steel dat will supply both local and international automobile industries.if things wr alright in DAT industry am sure it will solve like 50% of unemployment in dis country.

Fantastic

luvinhubby: Nigeria is steadily being transformed by a "clueless" man, hated by many simply out of petty ethno-religious bigotry.

Can't believe i'm saying this, but , GEJ till 2019.

Even though you are a late comer, allow me to still say Welcome Better late than never and spread the better news to dilute the unwarranted PROPAGANDA of the real clueless ones trying to confuse our folks.

As predicted more will continue seeing the light as stated hereunder =>

anonimi:

If it is simply by not being able to TALK like a Smooth Operator that one is "clueless", then you might be right with your assessment.

However, if it is by performance and delivery on one's constitutional responsibility compared to one's predecessors and those jostling to replace GEJ in his job, then he is not in anyway clueless.

Those who want to be wooed & carried away by those who TALK only but deliver nothing are free to do so. Their own cluelessness will soon dawn on them, if it already has not!


Source: https://www.nairaland.com/1911894/gej-still-clueless#26466386

double3:
I'm surprised that there is jubilation in the air because ajeokuta steel company could "FORM"(for non engineering students forming in this scenario is similar to importing flour and baking kpof kpof or chin chin ) a metal. That company was initially designed to produce iron and steel from its ore(hermitite) and not to convert billet into finished products. What ajeokuta steel is doing now is merely to melt imported steel and form rods and other products, quite a shame if you ask me. Nigerians love swimming in the waters of mediocrity.

This is quite revealing.
However from an engineering and business perspective is it not better to have this midway revival as a stepping stone to getting back to the grand initial plan of producing steel from iron ore, coal etc?
What do you think, given that we have wasted so much billions for three decades doing absolutely nothing

Delta steel company has bin forgotten!!!! What a pity.

owke.lets hope samthn gud comz outta dis

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Nigerians can believe anything even the educated ones ....The Ajaokuta steel company cannot work unless d Russians that designed it comeback to fix it............

I hope this will see the light of day because it's just what we need to grow. However, with the reaction of some posters, i feel saddened at the thought that politicians now understand our psychology. All they have to do is to lure us with something to get what they want(our submission/votes). When they get it, what they show us end up as a mirage as it'll just end as a mere promise. Let's kip politics aside and be objective.

Some people are sooo tooo dumb to ask why this is coming just months to elections. Similar things have been said about power and today is my 7th day of blackout. I'm sure another promise will come soon.

Ajaokuta was designed to convert iron ore from itakpe deposit into billet & bulk steel products for downstream inland steel rolling mills at osogbo,katsina,jos&aladja utilisation i.e their main raw material.Ajaokuta failed woefully to even commence talkless of delivering on its main job,why jubilating over ordinary conversion programme, which far lower private firms compare to even any of our inland rolling mills capacity are currently handling nationwide.ajaokuta only commences the dead& already sold out inland mills jobs, likely at higher prod. cost, of which they may not be able to breakeven.

Rajiolaade: Ajaokuta was designed to convert iron ore from itakpe deposit into billet & bulk steel products for downstream inland steel rolling mills at osogbo,katsina,jos&aladja utilisation i.e their main raw material.Ajaokuta failed woefully to even commence talkless of delivering on its main job,why jubilating over ordinary conversion programme, which far lower private firms compare to even any of our inland rolling mills capacity are currently handling nationwide.ajaokuta only commences the dead& already sold out inland mills jobs, likely at higher prod. cost, of which they may not be able to breakeven.

Thanks for explaining things in a concise fashion. I was thinking the same thing. All this GEJ jubilation what a waste of time.

ROSSIKE:

I've run out of words to describe this progressive administration. Very good job by President Jonathan and his team. Just imagine if all the previous govts had been like this. By now we'd be vying with the likes of Japan and South Korea!!

Thank God u are still alive!my friend the gullible

[size=15pt]Great move by the GEJ administration. But what is happening to DELTA STEEL COMPANY, OVWIAN-ALADJA? Will it be left to die or revived too? The automotive policy will be greatly enhanced when these (Ajaokuta Steel Company, Delta Steel Company, Aladja & Katsina Rolling Mill) are fully functional and can provide raw materials for auto parts locally - like engine blocks, flat steel sheets etc. [/size]

they are using generateor to power it? looooooooool

Clone2020: China became a world power in 30 yrs because they allowed foreign investors to bring in ideas and take advantage of very cheap labor. Cost of labor is slowly creeping up in China and the middle class is rapidly growing, so therefore, Africa is poised to be the next China or even better. Cost of labor is still mere peanuts in Nigeria, once electricity becomes stable, watch and see Nigeria grow.

Wen u wana assess the growth of a nation its of importance u consider all factors nd not jus cheap labour, China boast of cheap labour cus major social cost of living is takin off d sholders of der labour e.g most companies av affilaite wit schools we're employees kids ar ment to attend nd cost borne by employer,(imagine education cost takin off ur list of worries), you also get flexible working hrs inasmuch as u can work your requierd hrs on a daily basis,
Basic social cost is also takin off labour cost of livin e.g lightning, security.

Peanuts paid to labour in china is basically for MOST personal recurrent expenses compared to Nig wer incure umimaginable cost like construstin drainage jus to save ur erected building frm errosion, leveling roads to save ur bumper, force u to pay tax cus u need tax clearance cert to perform som tinz.

Why do u think chinese companies in Nig don't pay well, its cus dey ar measurin nig labour wit dat of ther home country.
Labour in china is highly Motivated beyond d peanut dey earn

Til Jesus come, Nig ll neva attain not even a quarter of Chinas growth givn dis current status que.



Still, there is Hope

Yomieluv:
After years of been used as a conduit pipe to siphon money,finally someone did the right thing by allowing it to function.

GEJ on point.

the truth is coming out gradually, Shagari established this industry in 1981, Buhari crashed it in 1984, IBB and the rest used it to siphon money all through their time. some years ago i was opportuned to pass through the premises on my way from Abuja, it was like a ghost town. now GEJ has revived it, any body that say i shouldnt vote GEJ needs cherubim and seraphim deliverance

GEJ is really learning from his political father IBB:

[size=18pt]11th July 1992 - The New York Tmes
Babangida Promises that Nigeria's Monumental Steel Plant Is To Begin Pouring By End of Month[/size]

AJAOKUTA, Nigeria, July 9— With its sprawling network of pipes and cylinders and immense exhaust towers, the 60,000-acre Ajaokuta steel complex, the biggest industrial project in sub-Saharan Africa, poses a striking contrast to the villages of straw-roofed huts that surround it.

Officials hope that once the plant begins pouring metal as scheduled this month, this remote town in the heart of southern Nigeria will stand as a symbol of this developing country's dream of greatness and a monument to engineering tenacity.

But Ajaokuta has also become a target of increasing cynicism among Nigerians who have come to regard the project, after 12 years of delays and cost overruns, as a seemingly endless economic drain.

"If there is such a thing as a white elephant, this is surely one of its more awesome specimens," said Nosa Igiebor, editor of Tell magazine, an independent weekly that has published several articles highly critical of the project. 'Impressive Achievement'

Indeed, although initially planned for completion in about six years at a cost of $1.4 billion, the Ajaokuta project has already cost more than $4 billion, and Western diplomats and donors say it may need hundreds of millions more before it becomes fully operational.

Ajaokuta, some Nigerian analysts and Western diplomats say, is a relic from another era, when many third-world nations, aspiring to catch up with industrialized societies in the West, built vast prestige projects that often proved to be financial flops.

"Even to have built such a project is an impressive achievement, and the Nigerians should be lauded for that," a Western diplomat said. "But in the end, the real issue is whether it will ever prove commercially viable, and for now, that seems unlikely."

To succeed, he said, the plant will need to be heavily subsidized by the Government for the indefinite future -- a prospect Nigeria can ill afford given its already historically high levels of external debt, now estimated at about $35 billion. Skeptical Western Donors

Officials involved with the plant strongly defend it.

"Our job is not just to produce steel," said Philip Atanmo, project director and chief executive of the plant. "We also have the job of opening up the area where we are located, providing schools, hospitals and housing and other infrastructural activities that you do not have to be concerned with in the U.S. or Europe.

"I will say emphatically that Nigeria is lucky that it contracted the construction of this plant when it did because, given the economic situation as it is today, nobody can think of this country being able to build a plant of this nature."

A Soviet-led consortium began work on the project in 1980 when the price of oil -- the commodity that drives Nigeria's economy, black Africa's biggest -- was riding high. With Government coffers overflowing, the country's leaders, hoping to reflect Nigeria's emergence as a world power, decided to build on a grand scale. As originally envisioned, the project included a raw-materials treatment plant, coke ovens, blast furnaces and four rolling mills.

But from the start, Western donors were skeptical. For one thing, they expressed misgivings about the plant's location -- the site is nearly 250 miles from the ports that handle critical raw materials, coke and iron ore. And because the Niger River is at times relatively narrow, it would have to be dredged before steel barges could navigate its waters. 80's World Oil Glut

Some also questioned whether there was enough demand in the local market to justify such a mammoth investment.

There there was the issue of corruption. In its early years, the Ajaokuta project became known for the kickbacks that enriched the pockets of officials who were in a position to award contracts and whose who received them.

Those and other factors led some observers to conclude that the project would never be competitive in terms of price or quality with European or North American steel, not to mention steel made at recently built and technically more sophisticated plants in Japan and South Korea.