“In the next 5 years Nigeria may be one of the largest producers of steel in the world,” Chief Executive Officer of African Foundries Limited, Sanjay Kumar, has said.

He made the statement at a media tour to the company’s steel mill at Ogijo, Ogun State adding that: “The potential is there for Nigeria because of her drive toward economic diversification; her manpower base; her intellectual base in metallurgy science; and because she possesses abundant natural resources for steel production. It is without doubt that Nigeria has the capacity to become Africa’s voice in the international market place for the manufacture, marketing and exportation of rods.”

Kumar  explained that Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of unexplored iron ore. So, if steel is developed then it will lead to more mining and essentially more development for the nation’s steel sector and the entire economy.

Kumar also said that with the efforts indigenous steel producing companies in bridging the local demand-supply chain, Nigeria domestic rod production could reach 1,250,000 tonnes by 2013.

The AFL boss asserted that the growth in the steel sector has been on the upward swing from year to year and that the industry is now heading towards the inflation point where demand for steel products will actually be outpaced by supply.

He hinted that as a result of the forecast development, the company has began seeking more market outside the country to export its product.

“Currently, we have an order of 5,000 tonnes of steel products and this has been produced and prepared for shipping out we are trying to get around the ancillary challenges of logistics occasioned by the large volume of the present order. However, we expect to meet the time lines and we have met all the required international quality standards.”

The shipping of the 5,000 tonnes of fully-manufactured iron rods to Ghana will be the company’s first major export deal.

With a current plant capacity of 500,000 tonnes of steel output per year and another 500,000 tonnes per annum capacity to be added, Kumar said AFL will likely be the biggest steel factory in Africa.

Kumar however urged Nigerian Federal Government to improve on the nation’s infrastructure to encourage more investors to go into the production of steel and iron rods locally.

On the use of substandard iron rods, AFL Technical Director, Ravi Sharma, “There is the need for more government’s intervention in checking the importation and production of substandard building materials.”