The $3.2 billion Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, has missed yet another deadline for its much-anticipated rebirth, making Nigeria’s dream of a local aluminum industry even more improbable.
ALSCON was founded to make the most of Nigeria’s enormous gas reserves and discourage gas flaring, which could be diverted into a gas-to-power model that would produce electricity for the smelting plant.
The smelter was supposed to restart operations in 2020, but that date was pushed back to 2023, and it currently looks unlikely to fulfill even that new objective. The smelter was put into service in 1999 but has remained idle since 2007.Â
For more than 20 years, the project has been beset by delays, financing shortages, and contract conflicts; the most recent deadline to be missed was the end of 2023.
While speaking on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg last year, Nigeria’s vice president, Kashim Shettima, assured the management of the Russian Aluminium Company—UC Rusal, one of the project’s partners—that the plant would be operational by the last quarter of 2023.
“The sooner we can get this plant back into production, the better for everyone. The Nigerian people demand better, so we must live up to the words we speak,” Shettima stated in July.
Agreements to resuscitate the facility have been made with Rusal (UC Rusal), according to Gabriel Aduda, permanent secretary, political and economic affairs office, office of the secretary to the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who spoke to BusinessDay at the same occasion.
“To bring the project back to life, we need to fine-tune the financial commitment with UC,” he remarked. “The plant is anticipated to be operational by the end of the 2023 calendar year.”
Many Nigerians are now doubting the project’s economic benefits and viability in light of this most recent setback.
The project’s soaring expenses, missing deadlines, and lack of transparency are cited by detractors as proof of bad planning and mismanagement.
“It’s a national disgrace,” stated Lagos-based economist John Oboh. “After almost 30 years of work, we still have nothing to show for this endeavor. The government must be transparent and inform us of the true situation, as well as the likelihood that this project will ever be finished.”
Rusal acknowledged the conversations but declined to provide any more details. It owned eighty-five percent of the plant; the remaining portion was owned by the Nigerian government.
