THERE is
strong indication that after cement, Nigeria’s steel industry is the next
sector to watch as African Industries Group, the largest steel manufacturer in
the country,
has started exporting the product to Morocco, Egypt and Ghana.
Steel is
made from iron ore, limestone and natural gas, and its usage cut across tools
and machinery, energy, automotive, building industries.
Raj Gupta,
Chairman, African Industries Group, while speaking ahead of the unveiling of
the company’s export strides to government officials, bank chiefs and other
stakeholders in Lagos, next week, said the company has been working
aggressively to put Nigeria on the global map of steel producers and exporters.
He said that
the company is currently exporting 200,000 metric tonnes yearly out of its one
million metric tonnes per annum production capacity.
Uche
Iwuamadi, the firm’s Group Executive Director, Legal/Corporate Affairs, added
that with this move, Nigeria is now shifting from imports-oriented economy to
that of an export giant.
He said,
“Nigeria is known for being an import oriented economy and is now entering a
real world map of exporters, not of raw materials or agric produces but a
classical industrialised products like iron rods.
“The beauty
of it all is, we started from the African landscape by exporting to Morocco,
Egypt and Ghana, which is quite remarkable because countries like Morocco and
Egypt can easily bring in some steel but they found Nigerian steel of the
highest quality. That is a start. The next thing is to go beyond Africa.”
0 Comments