Ukraine’s state company Vazhmashimpex wants to revive Nigeria’s largest steel mill

Ukraine’s state company Vazhmashimpex wants to revive Nigeria’s largest steel mill, Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd., located midway between Abuja, the capital, and Warri, a major port on the Gulf of Guinea. China’s Civil Engineering Construction Corp. is rebuilding the railroad to the coast. Yevhen M. Kozik, chief director of Vazhmashimpex, recently talked with political leaders in Abuja about reviving the nationalized mill and then met with Ukrainian engineers working at the site. Referring to the Soviet project from the 1980s, Valerii Aleksandruk, Ukraine’s Ambassador in Abuja, assures Leadership, a Nigerian news site: “The plant was designed and built by Ukrainian engineers.”