The Ministry of Steel Development has expressed plans to partner with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to establish a technology hub at Ajaokuta Industrial Park and Free Trade Zone in Kogi State.
This is as the ministries announced plans to partner in order to promote the use of locally manufactured steel products in the construction of telecommunications towers across the country, and other areas of mutual benefits.
This was disclosed when the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The ministers agreed on the formation of a joint technical committee to ensure seamless implementation of the strategies and ensure synergy between both sectors.
The project is tailored towards capacity-building initiatives for artisans in the steel sector to foster innovation, productivity, and job creation.
According to the statement by the Head of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry Steel, Salamatu F. Jibaniya, Audu said that “the collaboration aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, particularly the drive to promote local content, strengthen the steel industry, and reduce reliance on imported materials, emphasising the capacity of local steel players in the country to provide effective services to the telecommunications sector.”
The steel minister further said, “In terms of where we see areas of collaboration, I have seen your initiative and plans to build 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables across the country at a total cost of 3.3 trillion naira and 7,000 telecom towers to be installed nationwide by end-2025. We know that there will be a lot of value addition to Nigerians.
“During my official visit to Ogun State recently, I commissioned a Galvanised Steel Plant. These Galvanised Steel Plants are anti-rust and they have capacity to be used for telecom towers. We want these local players to be patronised, so we will appreciate it if they are incorporated into this very important project.
“On technical skills development, we had training for welders and artisans. We are hoping that you can expand your innovation and digital training skills programme to be able to include some of these specialised skills that we have in the steel industry because some of our guys have the skills to erect telecom towers.”
Responding, Tijani applauded the collaboration, describing it as “an enabler of President Tinubu’s vision for economic growth and job creation.”
The Minister of Innovation further said that beyond incorporating locally produced steel in the construction of the 7,000 telecom towers, the ministry was focused on ensuring long-term sustainability of the projects by involving local players for maintenance of the infrastructure.
“We will leverage this project to support the work you do. My goal is that for everything steel in this project, it should be 100 per cent locally sourced. What we need to do is to have a strong alignment, not just to the private sector but to develop critical sectors of the economy,” Tijani said.
