By Musa Adamu
Abuja
The Chief Executive Officer of the African Iron and Steel Association (AISA), Dr. Sanusi Mohammed, has said any effort at completing the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) would amount to nothing, except condition precedents were met.
Dr Mohammed who spoke in an interview with Blueprint newspapers in Abuja added that unless government paid attention to the development of raw material mines and the development of external infrastructure needed to facilitate the production in the company, completing it was useless.
He said: “Completing Ajaokuta today is useless and we have written the current government on this. When you complete the company today, it cannot go into production and the reason is simple. There are a number of things that government ought to have done years ago.
“For instance, the raw materials needed for Ajaokuta to produce have not been developed. It is only one of these raw materials that has received some attention which is the iron ore at Itakpe which has been developed to some level but they have not been given the resources to drive it to reach the quantum required ever since.
“The second one is the limestone that needs to be developed as a proper mine for continues supply of limestone material to the complex. There is also the dolomite which locations have been identified and has been proven to be of top quality but they are yet to be developed.
“Then there is the clays for production of refractory materials which are also yet to be developed. Again, as we speak there is no connection between the mines and Ajaokuta either by rail, water or conveyance belts. So, while it is good to complete the Ajaokuta it noteworthy to point out that what are need to make it functional are not ready. And on this we have written the government.”
He also accused successive governments of squandering $5billion so far on building Ajaokuta, a company, he said, that needed only $2billion at most to be built from scratch to completion.
“Although, they claimed that about $5billion had been spent on Ajaokuta, but I tell you that for the level of Ajaokuta, all the country needed to build it was around $1.5billion to $2billion but said they have already spent $5 billion yet it is not producing.”
He put the figure needed to complete the complex, development of the eternal infrastructures and raw materials mines at $1.080billion.
“What is needed to complete the Ajaokuta complex and provide the external infrastructures including mine development by linking them with rail network or water transportation network is $1.080billion, according to the latest audit report.”
