Dangote Group says it is making plans to invest in the steel sector of the economy “in a big way.”

Olakunle Alake, group managing director, Dangote Group, disclosed this on Thursday during a panel discussion at the Infrastructure Solutions Summit organised by the African Finance Corporation (AFC) in Abuja.

Alake said the conglomerate is making plans to expand operations into the steel sector of the economy.

He also said in a couple of years, the company will no longer go to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for foreign exchange.

“We do have something right now that we are trying to complete. I think this is the major project and that is our major focus right now. In another couple of years, we will not go to the Central Bank for foreign exchange for any of our activities, because at the end of the day, it’s a double situation, you import products which means you are creating jobs outside Nigeria and you struggle to get the forex,” Alake said.

“You drill for oil, you export oil, you don’t refine it. That way you are just killing employment.

“Our focus is two things. One, we make sure we look at things that can be produced locally, we create employment that way and we create value that way.

“Apart from the oil and gas project that we are doing, we are also one of the key stakeholders that has supported the government in terms of infrastructure tax credit scheme and we are using local banks to build that capacity across Nigeria.

“For us, steel is one of the key areas. You recall that years back the government decided that steel was major and set up Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel. We will want to resuscitate this sector in a big way.”

The Cable