Minister of Mines and Steel Development arch Olamilekan Adegbite has said that the nation’s steel industry when fully developed would drive economic growth through job creation.
The minister who was on a facility tour of Premium Steel and Mines Limited, Warri Delta state said the steel company was capable of generating 40,000 jobs when working at full capacity.
He therefore encouraged the management of Premium Steel and Mines Limited to get the company running at full capacity, noting that the ministry had a mandate to diversify the economy and create jobs through the sector.
“The mandate of the ministry is to expand the sector, use it to diversify the economy and create jobs and also to generate revenue for the government. I will encourage you to speed up the process. You are going to employ a lot of people which is a welcome development.”
He note that it was important for the nation’s steel sector to produce flat steel sheet. Adding that such was vital for the development of the sector and the country. “For the nation to industrialise, we need to produce flat sheet, which is the ultimate goal of the sector. With flat sheet we can produce many things like engine blocks, vehicle bodies etc’
Adegbite also rallied the steel producer to support the metallurgical Industry bill.
Adegbite noted that the bill when enacted into law would assist in establishing programmes that would aid the private sector to operate optimally, producing competitive high quality products for both local and international market.
