Jiangsu-Yulong Steel begins preliminary work on 400,000MT capacity plant in LFZ

Jiangsu Yulong Steel Pipe Company has begun preliminary work on its 400,000 million metric tonnes (MT) capacity plant at Lekki Free Zone.

The firm is the largest and one of the fastest growing steel pipe manufacturers in China with 22 sets of steel processing and pipe manufacturing units.

The firm’s investors have worked in Nigeria’s oil &gas industry for long. The steel pipe maker has completed bush clearing and sand filling of an 18-hectare expanse of land in preparation for the construction of the largest steel pipe mill. This development is in compliance with the Federal Government Local Content policy as the first oil & gas pipe manufacturer to commence the production of steel pipes in Nigeria.

The firm’s investment in Lekki Free Zone is seen as a boost to Nigeria’s GDP, employment and a step in driving the country’s steel industry.

“We are happy this is happening here today,” Ding Yonghua, MD of Lekki Free Zone, said.

Yonghua said the government was taking measures to ensure that investors in the zone had the foreign currency and other necessary infrastructure needed for their business.

“I hope that by next year, most of our issues will be resolved,” he assured investors.

Construction is expected to commence early 2016, as the fabrication of the steel structure for the factory house has been completed in China.

The firm’s production volume is estimated at about 400,000 MT per annum with an annual sales projection of about $480 million. The project upon commencement is expected to generate employment for over 1,000 people and will enhance modern technology transfer by training indigenous engineers in the steel fabrication industry.

Akodu Olalekan of the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, said Governor Akinwumi Ambode was passionate about growing the GDP of the state, with a view to improving the standard of living of Lagosians.

“A lot of investors are coming into the free zone. Fiscal policies are within the purview of the federal government, but we are happy that Lagos State and the federal government are on the same page,” Olalekan said.

He added that the governor was determined to support the efforts of the investors and would break any deadlock to ensure they could make profits and create good jobs.

Investors in the Lekki Free Zone and other free trade zones do not pay duties. Free trade zones are managed by Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).