Efforts to revive the long-idle Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited have received a significant boost following the signing of a 20-year Gas Supply Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
The agreement, secured under the leadership of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Prof. Nasir Abdulsalam, is expected to provide the steady gas supply required to drive the operations of the steel plant and pave the way for its long-awaited revival.
For decades, inadequate access to reliable gas has remained one of the major obstacles preventing the completion and commercial operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant.
Industry experts have repeatedly identified long-term energy security as a critical requirement for attracting investors and restoring confidence in the project.
With the new agreement in place, stakeholders believe the steel company is now in a stronger position to move forward with plans to complete outstanding phases of the project and commence full-scale industrial production.
The development is also in line with the Federal Government’s drive to deepen industrialisation and diversify the economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places renewed emphasis on reviving strategic national assets.
Analysts say the long-term gas supply arrangement is expected to improve investor confidence, stimulate fresh investments, create thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities, strengthen local manufacturing, and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported steel products.
The agreement represents one of the most significant milestones in recent efforts to reposition the Ajaokuta Steel Plant for commercial operations, raising fresh optimism that Africa’s largest integrated steel complex may finally be on the path to becoming fully operational after more than four decades of delays.
