In the face of Nigeria's foreign exchange crisis and other economic challenges leading many multinational companies to exit the country, the Managing Director of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Mr Dmitriy Zaviyalov, remains optimistic about the company's future. Zaviyalov has stated that ALSCON is actively working towards restarting production in the country, undeterred by the prevailing economic conditions. He expressed hope that Nigeria's economy will improve in due course.
Steps needed to restart production
He disclosed that ALSCON requires approximately $500 million to kickstart its production operations. He elaborated that a significant portion of this amount will be allocated towards reviving dormant equipment that has been idle for a decade. Additionally, funds will be directed towards acquiring power-generating sets crucial for production.
Zaviyalov, a Russian national, spoke to reporters through an interpreter at ALSCON's premises in the Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. He drew a parallel to Russia's economic challenges in the 1990s, emphasising that Russia overcame similar hardships. He believes that Nigeria has the potential to do the same.
"In economics there is something that we call long-term prospectives and short term prospectives. Nigeria is a very big country, we have market, we have resources both human and natural and we are looking at the future of Nigeria, where the economy will come back. Aluminium is the way to go, we hope that things will get better in Nigeria, we are mindful of the fact that we want to establish our presence before anyone else does because we are the pioneers of aluminium in Nigeria that is what forms our bravado here.
If you look at the history of Russia in the 1990s we had a very serious economic crisis and people were at the brink of starvation but look at the Russian economy now. We've bounced back, there is always that hope that things will not remain the same. We know that things are very difficult in Nigeria but we believe that things will change," said Dmitriy Zaviyalov.
The Managing Director highlighted ALSCON's commitment to establishing itself as a leading aluminium smelter company in Nigeria. He emphasised the importance of aluminium as a crucial industry, suggesting that it presents significant opportunities for growth and development in the country.
In summary, Mr Dmitriy Zaviyalov's remarks convey ALSCON's determination to weather Nigeria's current economic storm and commitment to contributing to the country's industrial and economic development through its operations in the aluminium sector.
"We had 25 years gas agreement with NGC to be supplying gas to the plant but in 2014, it unilaterally stopped supplying gas and breached the terms of agreement. As a company we are very hopeful, we are relentlessly working towards the resumption of gas supply to the plant and as at this moment the talks for resumption have been very successful and has gone to an advanced stage. We met with the vice President on this issue and we are equally looking forward to more negotiations," added Zaviyalov.
Production halted since 2013 due to insufficient gas supply
Addressing the reason behind the company's cessation of production in 2014, the Managing Director pointed to the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC). He explained that NGC, responsible for supplying gas to ALSCON, abruptly halted its supply. This unexpected disruption forced ALSCON to stop its production activities.
Zaviyalov refuted speculations suggesting that equipment at the ALSCON facility had been vandalised. He clarified that the plant remains intact, and the only essential requirements are the supply of gas and the revitalisation of pipes and other equipment needed for operations.
"It is a lie that our equipment are vandalised, everything is intact, it is embarrassing to peddle such falsehood, it is an exercise in futility to lie about something that is intact. When the issue of vandalisation came, we had more than seven visits from the presidency; a delegation from the National Assembly, the lower house, visited here for investigations, the BPP came, and even a delegation from the EFCC came, and they all discovered that the plant is intact," Zaviyalov added.
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