African Industries is to build Nigeria’s largest solar-powered steelworks

The Nigerian metallurgical company African Industries Group has been granted 500 hectares of land in Niger State (Nigeria) for the construction of a new facility. The plant is expected to become the country’s largest solar-powered metallurgical plant. This was reported by SteelOrbis.

The allocation of the land plot was officially approved by the Niger State government. This decision forms part of the authorities’ wide-ranging efforts to stimulate industrialisation, attract new investment and boost domestic steel production.

The planned project involves multi-billion investments (in the local currency, the naira) and will combine steel production with solar power generation. According to the company, the facility will be entirely powered by a purpose-built solar power system.

The initiative directly supports Nigeria’s ambition to increase industrial production whilst significantly reducing the sector’s reliance on traditional (fossil) energy sources.

The project will be developed and implemented in phases. The first phase will focus entirely on establishing steelmaking operations and creating the necessary supporting infrastructure. At present, the company has not disclosed the plant’s planned production capacity or specific completion dates.

The implementation of this initiative aims to further strengthen African Industries Group’s presence in Nigeria’s steel sector, whilst contributing to the broader goals of national industrialisation.

As reported by GMK Center, JSW Steel, one of India’s leading steel producers, has commenced work on the development of an integrated steel plant in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. The total investment in the project, which will be implemented in two phases, will amount to approximately €1.5 billion.