Niger Government Inaugurates Steel Rod Manufacturing Plant In Tahoua Region

The Niger government has inaugurated a new rebar (steel rod) manufacturing plant built by Niger Steel Group Company Ltd.

The plant, located within the Badaguichiri cement facility in the Illéla Department of the Tahoua Region, 600 kilometres northeast of Niamey, was financed at 2 billion CFA francs. It has an annual production capacity of 20,000 tonnes and offers 120 jobs to young Nigeriens.

During the inauguration, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Seydou Asman, said the plant aligns with the government’s vision for economic independence and industrial growth.

He noted that the facility would reduce the country’s reliance on imported construction materials and meet the increasing demand in the construction and public works sectors.

This project, with a capacity of 20,000 tons per year, represents an important step towards reducing our dependence on imports of construction materials. It also meets the growing needs of stakeholders in the building and public works sector, as well as those of households,” he said.

This comes shortly after the government banned the export of CEM II 32.5 R grey cement and scrap metals to preserve local resources to support domestic industries.

According to Asman, the plant was an example of efforts to transform local resources into finished products to meet domestic needs.

The Governor of Tahoua Region, Colonel-Major Oumarou Tawayé, welcomed the project, saying it would benefit residents by creating jobs and lowering the cost of construction materials. It will be recalled that the government recently slashed cement prices by 35 per cent to to ease the burden on both construction companies and individual builders.

Zhang Zhong Feng, the President of Niger Steel Group, said the project was completed on schedule and would help meet the country’s infrastructure needs.

The ceremony included a tour of the factory and the nearby Badaguichiri cement plant inaugurated in 2023, which produces 3,000 tonnes of cement per day. Built with an investment of nearly 260 billion CFA francs, the cement plant operates autonomously with a coal-fired power station and employs 1,500 workers.

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