Nigeria signs a $1.3 billion agreement with Premium Steel and Mines to revive the dormant Delta Steel plant.

August 25, 2026 Innovation Village pan-africa 1013 words

TL;DR

The Federal Government of Nigeria and Premium Steel and Mines Limited have signed an agreement to rehabilitate and reactivate the dormant Delta Steel plant in Ovwian-Aladja, Delta State.

Premium Steel has committed to investing over $1.3 billion to modernize the facility and restore its production capacity to one million metric tonnes of liquid steel annually.

Intelligence

The agreement aims to resolve raw material challenges by reactivating the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) and developing the Ajabanoko iron ore deposits.

The project is expected to create approximately 5,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs, supporting Nigeria's target of producing 10 million tonnes of steel annually by 2030.

This $1.3 billion agreement signals Nigeria's strategic focus on backward integration to reduce its heavy reliance on imported steel, which is critical for local construction and manufacturing.

Over the reactivation timeline, domestic construction and engineering firms in Nigeria stand to benefit from a more stable local supply of liquid steel.

However, the project's success hinges on whether the government and Premium Steel can successfully resolve long-standing raw material supply and logistics challenges at NIOMCO during this period.

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