The Dangote Group has indicated interested to invest in steel production, to support local industries and save Nigeria foreign exchange.
The Group Managing Director Dangote Group, Olakunle Alake, disclosed this during a panel session at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)  Infrastructure Solutions Summit held in Abuja recently.
A robust steel sector is essential in an oil producing economy. Despite Nigeria being an oil producing country, it lacks robust steel sector; importing virtually all steel used in the country  to meet domestic demand.
In the 1980s, the government of Nigeria had established the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State, but for over 35 years after its establishment, the company is yet to produce a single rod.
“Apart from the oil and gas project that we are doing, we are also one of the key stakeholders that has support the government in terms of infrastructure tax  credit scheme and we are using local banks  to build that capacity across Nigeria,” Alake said.
“We do have something right now that we are trying to complete.  I think this is the major project and that is our major focus right now. In another couple of years, we will not go to Central Bank for foreign exchange for any of our activities, because at the end of the day, it’s a double situation, you import product which means you are creating jobs outside Nigeria and you struggle to get the FX.
“You drill for oil, you export oil, you don’t refine it. That way you are just killing employment. Our focus is two things. One, we make sure we look at things that can be produced locally, we create employment that way and we create and we create value that way.
“For us, steel is one of the key areas. You recall that years back government decided that steel was major and set up Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel.”