by Sinosteelpipe | 2025-12-02 08:10:11+00:00
I. Overview of Nigeria

It has a land area of 923768 square kilometers, a population of 227 million (2024), an official language of English, a capital of Abuja, and a total GDP of 374.9 billion US dollars in 2023, with a per capita GDP of 1690 US dollars. Rich in mineral resources, the petroleum industry is the pillar of the national economy.

Since its independence, Nigeria has always regarded industrialization as a strategic path to achieve sustainable economic growth. Over the past decade, successive governments have taken many initiatives to achieve this goal, launching the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), which aims to promote economic diversification and promote the growth of agricultural processing and petrochemical sectors in manufacturing industry. The "anchor borrower program" was implemented to provide low-interest financing for agricultural processing enterprises and connect them with small farmers to ensure a stable supply of raw materials; in addition, special economic zones and industrial parks were introduced to attract investment by providing tax breaks, infrastructure subsidies, simplified regulatory procedures and other targeted incentives.

Nigeria remains one of the most attractive countries in Africa for investment. As the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria has a growing middle class, coupled with various incentive policies introduced by the government, the potential for the revival of manufacturing industry is huge. In addition, Nigeria is rich in natural resources and has a good geographical location, which is the gateway to the African market.

II. Overview of Nigerian Iron and Steel

Nigeria's steel demand is highly dependent on imports. In 2023, the crude steel output is only 1.19 million tons. In 2024, the crude steel output is about 200,0000 tons. The actual demand is more than 10 million tons. The annual import value is more than 4 billion US dollars. The annual import of steel is more than 1.5 million tons, indicating that the steel demand is highly dependent on imports. In order to improve the self-sufficiency rate, the federal government is actively attracting foreign direct investment into the steel sector and is committed to achieving the target of 10 million tons of steel per year by 2030.

Nigeria is rich in mineral resources, including oil, natural gas, iron ore and coal, which provide important support for economic development, but the steel industry contributes less to the national economy. From 2000 to 2023, Nigeria's economic growth has experienced three stages of rapid growth, steady development and slow growth, in which the economic structure is highly dependent on resource-based industries such as oil and natural gas, accounting for 6% of GDP, while the steel industry contributes less to GDP, accounting for about 0.2%.

In recent years, Nigeria's iron and steel industry is undergoing structural changes, local production capacity is gradually released, and policy support and foreign investment jointly promote industrial upgrading. Despite infrastructure and technology bottlenecks, the country is accelerating its transformation from a major steel importer to a regional manufacturing center, relying on abundant iron ore resources and huge market demand.

III. Major iron and steel enterprises in Nigeria

The steel complex in Nigeria consists mainly of Ajaokuta Steel (Ajaokuta Steel Company, ASC) and Delta Steel (Delta Steel Company, DSC). At present, the two steel mills are not operating normally. The output is still dominated by small and medium-sized rolling mills.

Although the Nigerian government has been committed to developing the steel industry for many years, many projects have failed to make substantial progress due to the shortage of raw materials and other problems.