• NNPCL, partners launch $500m mini-LNG plants to boost steel production
Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, yesterday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian conglomerate, Rashmi Metaliks Group, for a projected $1 billion investment in Nigeria’s steel sector over the next three years.

The agreement followed Audu’s official tour of the Rashmi Metaliks Steel Plant in Kolkata, India, where he commended the facility’s scale of operations and advanced technology.

The Minister said the MoU with Rashmi Metaliks marked a major milestone in efforts to reposition Nigeria’s steel industry, boost job creation, and reduce foreign exchange outflows through import substitution.

In signing the MoU, Audu highlighted Nigeria’s vast steel potential, noting that the country was transitioning from a raw minerals exporter to a value-adding industrial economy.

The Vice Chairman of Rashmi Metaliks Group, Mr Sunil Kumar Patwari, on behalf of the company, expressed appreciation to the Nigerian delegation for the successful visit to their facilities in Kolkata.

He emphasised that the visit reflected the Nigerian Government’s priority for the partnership and assured that, with the necessary support from the Nigerian Government, Rashmi Group was committed to delivering on the projects envisaged in the MoU.

A statement by the Head of Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Steel Development, Salamatu Jibaniya, said the ministerial delegation included directors from the ministry and officials of the Nigerian High Commission in New Delhi, led by Acting High Commissioner, Ambassador Ubong Akpan Johnny.