In the photo from left: The Vice Chairman Premium Steel and Mines Ltd, Mahesh Vaswani; the Honourable Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu; MD/CEO, Premium Steel and Mines Ltd PSML, Sahil Vaswani with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Steel Development, Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu during the Facility Tour of Premium Steel and Mines Ltd Aladja, Delta State on Thursday, 22nd of May 2025.
The Managing Director /CEO of Premium Steel Mines Ltd, Sahil Vaswani, says that the company would have commenced full operations, but for the lack of the essential raw materials for production – Iron ore.
Vaswani disclosed this on Thursday during the Facility Tour of Premium Steel and Mines Ltd, located in Ovwian-Aladja, Delta State, by the Honourable Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Steel Development, Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu, and other Directors in the Ministry.
Vaswani told the government officials that the company had introduced cutting-edge technology to rehabilitate the Rolling Mill in 2018 in its strong commitment to see that the Plant is revived.
However, he said that the shutdown of the Rolling Mill in 2021 as a result of multiple challenges, beginning with COVID-19 and other factors, havr severely disrupted access to essential raw materials.
Vaswani disclosed that as a committed investor, Premium Steel & Mines Ltd (PSML), has the potential to revive the dormant Steel Plant and position it as a catalyst for igniting Nigeria’s industrial revolution. He noted that if fully operational, PSML would contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
He appealed to the Federal Government to make available the supply of iron ore sourced locally to reduce the high working capital cycle.
The Honourable Minister revealed that the inspection tour is in furtherance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s resolve to ensure that all legacy Steel assets are resuscitated for optimum contribution to the national economy, irrespective of the ownership structure.
“I have the mandate of Mr. President to intervene and resolve all issues holding these assets down and ensure that the noble vision of our founding fathers is realized in these projects,” he said.