FG seals deal to revive Delta Steel after decade-long shutdown

Nigeria's Federal Government has initiated a plan to revive the long-dormant Delta Steel Company, with its current owners, Premium Steel and Mines Limited, committing over $1.3 billion to rehabilitate and modernize the facility. The goal is to return the plant to commercial production within 18 to 24 months. This significant revival effort is projected to generate around 25,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The renewed push to restart the integrated steel plant received a boost with the signing of a Sub-lease and Operations Agreement between the National Iron Ore Mining Company in Itakpe and Premium Steel and Mines Limited. This agreement is crucial for securing sustainable access to iron ore, a key requirement for the plant's operation. The Delta Steel Company, commissioned in 1982 in Ovwian-Aladja, Delta State, had an installed capacity of one million metric tonnes of liquid steel annually but struggled with operational difficulties, eventually shutting down after operating at only about 25% of its designed capacity.

The Federal Ministry of Steel Development announced that the agreement is a milestone in the government's efforts to reposition Nigeria's legacy steel industry assets. The ministry views these assets as critical drivers for industrialization, economic diversification, job creation, and sustainable national development. The revival aims to leverage the plant's potential to contribute significantly to the nation's economy.

Previously privatized in 2005 to Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited, the company later changed hands when the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria sold it to Premium Steel and Mines Limited in 2015 to recover debts. Despite remaining inactive as an integrated steel plant since then, the new arrangement signifies a fresh attempt to resurrect this ambitious industrial project. Under the current agreement, Premium Steel and Mines Limited will focus on raw material exploration, exploitation, and the comprehensive rehabilitation and modernization of the steel complex.

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The Federal Ministry of Steel Development has signed an agreement aimed at facilitating the revival and full operationalisation of the Delta Steel Company, now known as Premium Steel and Mines Limited, Ovwian-Aladja, Delta State. The agreement marks a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to reposition Nigeria’s legacy steel industry assets as a critical driver of industrialisation, economic diversification, job creation and sustainable national development.