Ajaokuta Steel Company

What Ajaokuta Steel Company does

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) is a Federal Government of Nigeria wholly owned enterprise headquartered in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, and incorporated under Decree No. 60 of 1979 as the successor to the Nigerian Steel Development Authority. It operates the country's principal integrated steel complex - a Blast Furnace - Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) facility sited on 24,000 hectares (800 hectares for the steel plant itself) with an installed crude steel capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per annum and engineering provisions to scale output to 2.6 and ultimately 5.2 MTPA. The complex integrates sinter production (2.61 MTPA), coke ovens and by-products (880,000 tonnes/year), a 1.35 MTPA blast furnace, a 1.3 MTPA steelmaking shop with continuous bloom casters, four finishing mills (Billet, Light Section, Medium Section & Structural, Wire Rod), a captive 110 MW thermal power plant, a Metallurgical Training Centre capable of training 3,540 candidates, and an Engineering Works Complex spanning foundry, forge and fabrication, equipment repair, machine and tools, and rubberizing and vulcanizing.

The revenue model is anchored on B2B hardware sales of long steel products - billets, wire rods (5.5-12.5mm), re-bars (6-30mm), light and medium structural sections (I-beams, channels, angles) - serving construction, packaging, and wire drawing/nail making industries across Nigeria. A secondary revenue stream derives from the Engineering Workshops, which supply equipment repair, fabricated parts, and spare-parts reconditioning to a roster of industrial clients that includes the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, Delta Steel Company, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, Obajana Cement, First Aluminum, DICON Kaduna, the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, and Cadbury Nigeria. Distribution is direct-to-enterprise across Nigeria, with stated intent to extend reach to the West African sub-region via the ECOWAS treaty and the Federal Government's Export Expansion Scheme. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and only rolling operations are documented as having commenced (November 2004); the blast furnace and integrated chain have repeatedly been idled by funding shortfalls since the 1990s, leaving realized throughput materially below design capacity.

ASCL employs approximately 3,000 people and is led by Managing Director/CEO Professor Nasir Naeem Abdulsalam, appointed in April 2025 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Headcount and operating scope are driven by federal strategic-industrial policy rather than commercial market signals, positioning the company as the government's principal vehicle for import substitution and industrial diversification in the steel sector.

Name

Ajaokuta Steel Company

Legal name

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited

Website

https://ajaokutasteel.com.ng

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited is a Federal Government of Nigeria wholly owned integrated steel producer, operating a 1.3 MTPA BF-BOF complex plus finishing mills and engineering workshops, serving construction, packaging, wire drawing, and industrial repair clients across Nigeria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Integrated Steel Manufacturing

NAICS

Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing (331110)

SIC

Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling & Finishing Mills (3310)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Steelmaking (BF-BOF) (IMAKABAA)

Keywords

• Integrated steel manufacturing
• Steel rolling mills
• Blast furnace steel production
• Engineering fabrication services
• Metallurgical training

Headquarters

HQ city

Ajaokuta

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Steel Products Sales: ASCL is a leading supplier of quality steel products in Nigeria, serving construction, packaging, and wire drawing/nail making industries. Revenue is generated through the sale of steel products manufactured from its integrated steel plant.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited operates an integrated steel plant on the BF-BOF route, producing sinter, coke, liquid iron, liquid steel, steel billets, wire rods, re-bars, and structural steel sections for Nigeria's construction, packaging, and wire drawing/nail making industries. The company additionally provides engineering workshop services (equipment repair, forge and fabrication, foundry, machine and tools, rubberizing and vulcanizing), engineering consultancy (design, product development, plant refurbishing and turn-around maintenance), and metallurgical training.

Product overview

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited operates as an integrated steel plant using the Blast-Furnace – Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) route for steel production. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of steel products and manufacturing services spanning the entire steel production value chain. Core products include sinter (2.61 million tonnes/year), coke and by-products (880,000 tonnes/year), liquid iron (1.35 million tonnes/year), and liquid steel (1.3 million tonnes/year). Finishing mills produce steel billets, wire rods (5.5-12.5mm), re-bars (6-30mm), and structural steel products including I-beams, channels, and angles. The company also operates Engineering Workshops Complex providing forge and fabrication, foundry, equipment repair, and rubberizing services, supported by a Metallurgical Training Centre for workforce development. Additional services include engineering consultancy for design, product development, and plant maintenance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Steel Billets Semi-finished steel billets produced by the Billet Mill with installed capacity of 795,000 tonnes per annum, available in 100x100mm and 150x150mm square sizes for downstream rolling and re-rolling operations.
• Wire Rods and Re-bars Wire rods (5.5mm–12.5mm) and re-bars (6.0mm–12mm) produced by the Wire Rod Mill with 130,000 tonnes per annum capacity, serving wire drawing, nail making, and construction industries.
• Light Section Steel Products Light structural steel produced by the Light Section Mill with 400,000 tonnes per annum capacity, including plain and ribbed bars (10–30mm), squares (10–30mm), hexagons, angles, channels, T-sections, and strips for construction applications.
• Medium Section and Structural Steel Products Structural steel produced by the Medium Section and Structural Mill (MSSM) with 560,000 tonnes per annum capacity (500,000 tonnes stated on products page), including I-beams (80–300mm), channels (80–300mm), equal angles (70x70mm to 130x130mm), unequal angles, and flats.
• Coke and By-Products Coke, tar (48,000 tonnes/year), ammonium sulphate fertilizer (12,000 tonnes/year), coke oven gas, and steam produced by the Coke-Oven and By-Products Plant with 880,000 tonnes per annum coke capacity for steelmaking operations and fertilizer market.
• Engineering Workshops Complex Services Comprehensive engineering services delivered through the Foundry and Pattern Making Shop, Forge and Fabrication Shop, Machine and Tools Shop, Rubberizing and Vulcanizing Shop, and Power Equipment Repair Shop — covering equipment repair, spare parts manufacture, fabrication, casting, forging, machining, and rubber product manufacturing for refineries, cement plants, mining operators, defense and other industrial clients.
• Engineering Consultancy Services Engineering consultancy covering design and drawing, product development, general engineering, rubber product development, and plant refurbishing and turn-around maintenance, offered to industrial clients seeking metallurgical and heavy-engineering expertise.
• Metallurgical Training Centre Services Long-term skilled manpower training for the steel and allied industries delivered through the Metallurgical Training Centre (established November 1978, patterned after Kharkov Polytechnics), including Craftsman Training School (1,980 trainees across 31 courses/year) and Technician Training School (1,560 trainees across 13 courses over two years), with total capacity for 3,540 candidates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% plant completion by 1994
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature15 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)coreOthersASCL plans to leverage the ECOWAS treaty to expand its market base to the entire West African Sub-region, utilizing the regional trade framework to access neighboring markets for steel products.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tosyali Holding: Türkiye-headquartered integrated steel producer with significant Algerian operations, producing rebar, wire rod, and sections. Directly competes with ASCL in West African construction steel markets, including Nigeria imports.
• Hadeed (SABIC affiliate): Saudi Arabia's largest integrated steel producer (HBI-fed EAF route), producing rebar, wire rod, and heavy sections for the construction sector. Comparable in Middle East/Africa export markets and government-aligned ownership.
• Delta Steel Company: Historic Nigerian integrated steel producer (EAF route) at Ovwian-Aladja. Listed as ASCL's client for engineering works but is also a domestic peer targeting the same construction steel market, though currently largely dormant.
• ArcelorMittal South Africa: Africa's largest integrated steel producer using blast-furnace route (Newcastle and Vanderbijlpark works). Direct competitor for long products, structural steel, and flat steel across African markets, with similar BF-BOF cost structure and downstream value chain.
• Ezz Steel: Egypt's largest independent steel producer, operating integrated EAF and downstream rolling mills serving construction and infrastructure. Comparable in serving North/West African construction markets with rebar and long products.
• Emirates Steel Arkan: UAE-based integrated steelmaker (formerly Emirates Steel) with BF-based heavy sections and rebar production, serving regional construction and infrastructure markets. Comparable in scale, integrated upstream-to-finishing model, and government backing (ADNOC/Emirates ownership).
• African Industries Group: Nigeria-based diversified steel and mining group producing iron ore, billets, rebar, and galvanized products. Domestic direct competitor in the same Nigerian construction market with overlapping long-products portfolio.

Others

• Danieli: Italian supplier of steel plant equipment and integrated mini-mill/BF-BOF technologies. Relevant peer as a potential EPCM partner for ASCL's rolling mill upgrades and downstream expansion plans.
• Primetals Technologies: Metallurgical plant builder and technology licensor for BF-BOF and rolling mill equipment. Comparable as the type of EPCM counterpart required for ASCL's future capacity expansion and modernization capex.

Broad incumbents

• Tata Steel: Global integrated steel major with BF-BOF route, producing long and flat products for construction, automotive, and infrastructure. Comparable in integrated value chain and African export presence, though vastly larger and more diversified.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AjaokutaC
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ajaokuta Steel Company