By our correspondent
The Federal Government has said that the planned concessioning of the Ajaokuta Steel complex is still on track, disclosing that 11 foreign investors have already indicated interest in the Iron and steel company.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite disclosed this Thursday in Abuja during his presentation at the 8th edition of the Buhari administration scorecard series.
The Mines and Steel Minister said three of the 11 interested parties are Russian firms, while the others are individual foreign investors. He however did not disclose the identities of the firms and the individual investors.
He said the desire and commitment of the Federal government to fully bring back to life the operations of the company before the end of 2022 was hampered by the disruption of covid, and tendered apology to Nigerians for the inability to bring Ajaokuta to life as planned in 2022.
He said however that concrete arrangements have reached an advanced stage to engage concessionaires who will bring in big time money, technology, skill and commitment to start production at the steel complex.
He said auditors engaged to verify the status, assets and liabilities of the company ahead the concession have given assurance that the deal will not strip the complex of assets, but will be beneficial to the country in the long run.
He listed some milestones achieved by the Ministry to include a total of 45 abandoned mine sites across the states of the Federation which have been reclaimed.
He said the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee, MIREMCO, has been established and supported in 33 states of the Federation and the FCT.
He said some mine ponds in abandoned mines have been rehabilitated and are being used for economic activities that generate employment and revenue to the Government.
The Ministry through the safer mining programmes has conducted a series of sensitization activities to enlighten miners on the dangers of unwholesome practices in mining, he said.
Under the programmes, the Ministry distributed 1,000 safety gears to artisanal miners, and conducted road shows in three local government areas.
It also constructed Extension Services outposts in Bagega and Kadauri, and procured Inspectorate tools and equipment for Regulatory functions for Mines Inspectorate.
Other notable achievements, he said, include Phosphate Exploration in the Sokoto Basin, and exploration of Igbokoda Silica Sand in the southeastern part of River Ofara, Ekiti.
To the credit of the administration is the Exploration of Orin Ekiti Bauxite resource located in Ido-Osi, Ekiti, the Iron ore resource drilling in Tajimi, Kogi State, the Geological mapping, Sampling & Drilling of Libeli-Issana-Nasko Iron Ore, the Geological mapping, Sampling & Drilling of Gidan Buzu Iron Ore, and the Establishment of mining clusters across the 6 geopolitical zones.
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