Failure Of The Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill Project Construction Essay

Failure Of The Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill Project Construction Essay In the quest to develop its policy in the steel sector the Federal Government of Nigeria under General Gowan era promulgated Decree No.19 on April 14, 1971 setting up the Nigerian Steel Development Authority (NSDA) which was charged with the responsibility for the planning, construction and operation of steel plants in the country. It was in addition tasked with carrying out investigations related to geological surveys, market studies and metallurgical research. The NSDA also embarked on short and long-term training of staff in overseas countries such as India and the Soviet Union on the operation and management of an iron and steel plant. Hence, in 1973, Tiajpromexport (TPE) of the then USSR was commissioned to prepare a preliminary project Report (PPR) on the iron and steel industry in Nigeria. The Report submitted in 1974, studied alternative production schemes based on both local and imported raw materials and was accepted in 1975. A contract for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) signed in 1975 with the USSR was submitted to the Nigerian government in October of 1977. With the assistance of Sofresid of France as consultants, a variant of the steel plant was accepted in June 1978. The DPR specified broadly the general layout, composition and requirements as well as a tentative master schedule of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. It was on the basis of this Detailed Project Report that the Global Contract was signed on the 13th of July 1979 between Nigeria and Tiajpromexport of the Soviet Union for the construction of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. The signing of this contract signified major commitments on the part of the Nigerian government and the USSR to the development of an iron and steel industry in Nigeria. The Nigerian government on 18th of September 1979 promulgated the National Steel Council Decree No.60 dissolving the NSDA. The new decree provided for the formation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant as well as five other limited liability companies. These are the Delta Steel Company Ltd., Aladja; the Jos Steel Rolling Mill, the Oshogbo Steel Rolling Mill, the Katsina Steel Rolling Mill, and the then Associated Ores and Mining Company Ltd., now, National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) at Itakpe. However, the very long gestation period of the Ajaokuta project meant that the rolling mills had problems of inadequate supply or lack of billets to operate optimally. This contributed significantly to the poor performance of the Nigerian steel sector. The steel companies, rolling mills and the mining company have all now been incorporated as limited liability companies and are expected to be self-funding (BPE, 2005).However, the government of Nigeria wishes to fully divest its equity holdings in the rolling mills. It seeks prospective core/strategic investors with an initial sale plan of acquisition of 80 per cent shares of the rolling mills, while the remaining shares will be offered to the staff of the company as well as the local community (Bureau of Public Enterprises, 2003). 1.1 THE AJAOKUTA PROJECT OVERVIEW The Ajaokuta project was established on the 18th of September 1979, with formation of Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd. Which was charged with the responsibility of constructing and operating the Ajaokuta integrated iron and steel plant. The project at inception was envisaged to produce 1.3 million tonnes at its first stage, 2.6 million tonnes at its second stage, and 5.2 million tonnes per annum at the third phase of long and flat products. The principal units of the Ajaokuta Plant include the iron making plant, steel making plant, the rolling mills, repair facilities, auxiliary facilities and the electric power supply system. The envisaged features of the Plant include 150mm Wire Rod Mill, 320mm Light Section and Bar Mill, 700mm Medium Section and Structural Mill and 900/630 semi-continuous Billet Mill Cross Section of ASCL: Source: Julius Berger Plc; Construction period, 10/1980-06/1990 ASCL, 1990). The Ajaokuta integrated plant, which is based on the blast furnace process of iron making, has a raw materials preparation unit that includes the Sintering plant, Coke-oven and By-product unit under the iron-making unit. The rolling mills are four, two of which, namely, the light section and Wire Rod mills were supposed to be the priority rolling mills. In terms of product mix, the Preliminary Project Report (PPR), proposed equal amounts of flat and long products. However, during this period, the national economy was buoyant with the construction industry enjoying a boom, and this led to the decision that the first stage of the plant would be devoted to long products only, while the second stage an expansion to 2.6 x 106 tones, would be for the production of flats. The first phase was therefore designed to produce long products like iron bars, wire rods, angles, squares, channels, beams, and structures. Most of the products were expected to be used in the civil engineering construction industry. However, hindsight shows that the change of the original concept of the plant was a serious error (Ogbu et.al, 1995). 1.2 COMPLETING EFFORTS OF THE AJAOKUTA PROJECT Several successive administration of the federal government had taken measures in the completion of the Ajaokuta project since its inception yet till date the project had not attained the first phase of its installed capacity. In line with the industrial policy of the civilian administration, a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between FGN and a Japanese firm, Kobe Steel Ltd, was entered into on May 31, 2002 to provide a Fastmelt Technology for the completion of the plant-phase I. Six months later, another agreement (Financing Agreement F.A) was reached with SOLGAS of USA to finance the project between the FGN and Kobe Steel Ltd on the 29th November, 2002. In a space of another seven months ON June 30, 2003 the Federal Government signed yet another agreement with the same SOLGAS: to extinguish earlier agreements reached and to move ahead to manage the project leaving in the wake too many loopholes, thereby putting into serious questions our techno-managerial ability. As this arrangemen t was in progress, there was on standby TPE to stage a come back. TPE actually submitted to the ministry to rehabilitate the plant at the cost of $300million. The recent effort of the government is the constitution of the 16-man Interim Management Committee after the concession of Ajaokuta steel company to an Indian based company, Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GINL) failed in 2008 on the ground that the Indian firm was short-changing the interest of the country (Olaitan, 2010). The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development received the business plan of the Interim Management Committee for re-operationalising. With this, the seed fund of Six hundred and fifty (N650) million naira only was approved by the federal government to be released to the Interim Management Committee for re-operationalising the Light section mill, the Wire rod mill, the engineering workshops, the Thermal Power Plant at the Steel Plant. According to the Minister à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"the immediat e phase is re-operationalising, the second is completion of the plants and the third phase is privatizationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ , (Mukhtar, 2010). 1.3 MAJOR CHALLENGES OF AJAOKUTA PROJECT The major problems inhibiting the proper functionality of Ajaokuta Steel Company can be categorized under the following: Funding. Raw material development. Infrastructure. High cost of energy and natural gas. Inappropriate capital structure. 1.3.1 FUNDING. à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Many ex-regimes save the Shagari Ekwueme era of the Second Republic had had but a smattering on the importance of the steel dream. Suffice it to say that in the Abacha regime the project was said to have been mortgaged much to the chagrin of compatriots in the industry and the country in general.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ,(Omonihgo, 2004). It could be concluded that the government has spent a lot on the project, but poor funding has been the bane of completion schedules of the project Second to it is the lack of working capital for the operation of the Rolling Mills and other units of the steel project led to the shot down of these plants resulted in idleness and deterioration of the completed units. There is no gain saying that for a reactivation of these units, substantial working capital is required. 1.3.2 RAW MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT: Mines development, access roads, procurementinstallation of plant and equipment are still outstanding for a number of raw materials input in steel production apart from iron ore. There also, lies the problem of identifying and determining sources of imported raw materials like bauxite and manganese, cooking coal etc. 1.3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE: Apart from raw materials, external infrastructures to and from Ajaokuta steel are lacking. The completion of Warri-Ajaokuta rail line, dredging of, River Niger, and installation of bulk handling facilities at the ports are still outstanding. 1.3.4 INAPPROPRIATE CAPITAL STRUCTURE: Ajaokuta steel company being a public sector steel company has found it extremely difficult to source for funds in the financial market. Consequently, the government has been their source of funds. Sadly, the dwindling economic fortunes of the country via mal administration have made the government incapable of meeting the financial needs of these companies adequately. However, in as much as the nation is over independent on oil and its non diversification of the economy, politics both local and international, corruption has been the bligh of the realization of the steel dream, it remains inevitable that the completion and commissioning of the Ajaokuta steel plant remains the bed rock to Nigerians quest towards industrialization. 2.0 THEORY 2.1 Per Capita Consumption of steel The per capita consumption of steel is the index used to determine the level of industrialisation of a country. The per capita consumption of steel in Nigeria is woefully very small: 10kg, some say it is less than that; while the world average is 130kg. Statistics show that Nigeria is lagging behind even other African countries, with lesser endowments; like: Zimbabwe (25kg), Egypt (42kg), Algeria (38kg) and South Africa (112kg). But Nigeria is richly endowed with extensive deposits of metallic and nonmetallic materials across the country, which is why confronted by this gloomy economic outlook, the African Iron and Steel Association, AlSA, in May 2002 advised the Nigerian government that the nation can deploy her resources to raise up her level of per capita consumption of steel to 100kg, so as to jumpstart industrialisation within the next 10 years, Adding that Nigeria, with a population of over 150 million has a very large room and huge domestic market that can sustain such rapid g rowth. The country will also save for herself a lot of foreign exchange earnings if ASCL and DSC can come on stream, according to AISA. From the foregoing therefore, Nigerias demand for steel is estimated at about 12.0million tonnes per annum to begin industrialisation proper. If ASCL and DSC are operating optimally, then, they would contribute annually 5.2 million and 1.0 million tonnes respectively or cumulatively 6.2 million tonnes per year to the domestic market. It behooves, therefore, that the remaining 50 percent will still need to be imported or, another Ajaokuta and Delta Steel Complexes are required to argument the short-fall in supply. 2.2 Build Own Transfer Solution 2.3 Corporate Governance 3.0 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RESEARCH

Its More Fun in The Philippines Background

Introduction:Last January 2012 the Department of Tourism launched the new slogan â€Å"It’s more fun in the Philippines† to raise the awareness of the locals and the tourist who are still unaware of the beauty of the Philippines. The said slogan created a question in our mind. What will be difference of using this new slogan over the old one â€Å" Pilipinas kay Ganda† , will it be more effective to attract tourist and help to promote the hidden beauty of the Philippines that still awaits to be discovered. And with that we come up with the idea to make a study about the questions that we want to be answered. The main goal of the administration is to attract 6.8 million foreign tourists a year by 2014, 8 million by 2015, and 10 million by 2016, by using the slogan will the government can achieve their goal? Background of the studyâ€Å"It’s more fun in the Philippines† campaign was made by David Guerrero the chairman and chief creative officer of BBD O Guerrero, which is the country’s most awarded and popular advertising firm. This slogan is simple yet very meaningful and applicable to the Filipino character. Making the Slogan, the team Guerrero thinks of a theme which can be a big hit to boost the Philippine Tourism Industry, a campaign slogan which can really be a big help to our economy. The campaign objective is to get the Filipinos into the global perception, to start an image that other countries will turn to. This campaign can also be a big help in letting other countries know what the Philippines can offer. The things that no other countries can offer. Objectives:To determine if the slogan has been successfully launched internationally. To determine if the slogan help to raise the awareness of the people about the Philippines. Research Problem:The researchers seek answers to the following questions: 1. Is the slogan will be effective to promote the Philippines? 2. Does the government can market the said slogan glo bally? 3. Will the slogan be able to help to raise the awareness of the people?Variables:Independent: It’s more fun in the PhilippinesDependent: Effect of the slogan in the Philippines’s tourism industrySignificance of the Study:The proposal will be able to determine if the slogan has been successfully marketed globally.The proposal will show if the slogan â€Å"It’s more fun in the Philippines† help to attract tourist to visit Philippines.This proposal will determine if the Department of Tourism has chosen a good slogan for the tourism industry.

People Behaviour Essay

Methodology is concern with both the detail research methods through with data is collected, and the more general philosophies upon which the collection and analysis of data are based. In methodology there are two types of research methods in which researchers can depend on when researching. These are â€Å"Quantitative† and â€Å"Qualitative† research. Quantitative research deals with a term which August Comte came up with, â€Å"Positivism.† This quantitative research deals with more scientific research than based on theory, it focuses on scientific methods of study. Despite the considerable influence of the ‘scientific’ approaches to sociological methodology, an alternative series of interpretive or qualitative approaches has long existed within sociology. Qualitative research often collects subjective data such as information about people’s emotions, feelings and values and also isn’t structure like quantitative research. Between both the ‘Quantitative and Qualitative research’, quantitative uses questionnaire to gather data. A questionnaire is a number of preset questions that can contain open-ended, fixed choice or combination of both types of questions. In this essay it would be shown that questionnaires cannot be used to capture the truth about people’s behaviour, but to an extent. In questionnaire research the same questions are usually given to respondents in the same order so that the same information can be collected from every member of the sample. There are many methods on how to distribute questionnaires. The first method would be the postal questionnaire, as the name suggests it is mailed to the respondents with a stamped address envelope for return to the researcher. Postal questionnaires are rather inexpensive, time consuming and has little less than fifty percent (50%) of  the questionnaires posted back. This would seriously bias the researcher research, since there may be systematic differences between those who returned questionnaires than those who did not. For example, the main response to a postal questionnaire on marital relationships might come from those experiencing marital problems and wish to air their grievance. If non-respondents were happily married, the researcher would be unjustified in making generalizations about married life on the basis of the return questionnaires. Therefore the researcher would not be able to analyse the questions clearly and would not be able to analyse properly the married couples who are happy, sad, frustrated or even devoice, because of the lack of questionnaires missing from married couples. Apart from the first method, the second method has a far higher return rate than the postal. This is because it is to administer the questionnaire to a group such as a class of students or workers at a union meeting. This method is less expensive and maintains the advantage of the presence of an interviewer. However, the interviewer must ensure that the respondents do not discuss anything while doing the questionnaire, due to the researcher would like the respondent own view and not from the help of others. This would therefore give the researcher an image towards how the respondent expresses themselves towards the questions within the questionnaire. The first two (2) methods that were stated above both used questionnaires mainly the first through postal and the second has an interviewer present at the time the questionnaires were given out. This method in the other hand is done through the telephone. This is mostly used in conducting of market research for companies, but it is not usually regarded satisfactory by sociologist. According to (Aldridge and Levine, 2001), it is hard to establish rapport in such interviews, disadvantage groups tend to be under-represented in samples, it is difficult to ask sensitive questions, respondents cannot be expected to remember a wide range of possible answers to fixed-choice questions, and visual aids cannot be used. This may make the respondent very uncomfortable and due to that they would not be willing to cooperate and answer the telephone questionnaire.  Therefore this may make it very hard on the researcher due to he or she would not be able to gain a proper response from the responden t. The fourth possibility is to administer questionnaires by e-mail. According to (Geoff Payne and Judy Payne, 2004), this may be a useful way of conducting dispersed groups of people, or those who might not wish to be questioned face-to-face. For example, it has been used in a study of people who committed self-harm. Although this method has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages. A problem of this is that genuine anonymity is difficult to assure since it is possible to track the source of an emailed response. Another big problem may be that the sample is restricted to those with access to computers and may therefore be unrepresentative, although the significance of this will diminish as the number of people without email and internet fails. This therefore would be a problem to the researcher because he or she may not be able to interpret the behaviour of the respondent towards the questionnaire and also the respondent may not take on the research seriously. These things hinder the researcher from collecting data towards his or her research. There are many reasons towards why questionnaires are inappropriate to capture the behaviour of people. But there are one or two reasons that could help the research in that, but only up to an extent. The second method that was stated can be of use in this by the interviewer watching every one’s reaction towards the questionnaire. This can determine the respondent answer by the feedback he or she gave during reading the questions. In conclusion, questionnaires can be used to capture people’s behaviour but to an extent. Yet it have been shown in this essay that you cannot simply capture someone behaviour with the use of questionnaires. It is due because the respondent can lie during the questionnaire or even the researcher would not get back a proper feedback to determine the respondent answer. In the end it has been shown that questionnaires cannot capture peoples’ behaviour.

Hamlets Love For Ophelia - 1414 Words

Hamlet is blind. His clouded vision makes him incapable of seeing his true feelings for Ophelia until she is on her deathbed. This so called scholar is not intelligent enough to be aware of the fact that he is in love in Ophelia because his brain in clouded by the thought of revenge. A thought developed to help him achieve his goal of glory and bring him out if his funk ultimately makes him lose sight of something that would bring him pure joy, his love for Ophelia. Instead he pushes her away instead of expressing his true feelings. Although Hamlet loses sight of his love for Ophelia during his antic disposition and revenge scheme, upon her death he realizes his true feeling for her and when he hears the news of her death he is devastated.†¦show more content†¦Once Hamlet finds this out he, being the prideful man he is, goes out of his way to prove him wrong. Some would argue that Hamlet is mean to Ophelia because she betrayed his trust by showing the letters to her father, but he is mean because he becomes mad and wants to prove Polonius wrong. Ophelia only shows the letters to Polonius because she is trying to be a good daughter. Throughout the entire play Ophelia is used as a pawn to both her father and Hamlet, and that it why she acts they way the she does. While Hamlet is putting on his act of antic disposition he is extremely rude to Ophelia. He always talks down to her like she is incapable of understanding simple ideas. Many would argue that since Hamlet is a man of power during this time period he is expected to act this way. Also, people could argue that Ophelia is incapable of understanding because she is seen as weak and fragile. These arguments are invalid because Hamlet does not need to degrade Ophelia because he is scared to love her. He goes as far as uttering harsh words to her like â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery† (3.1. 148-149), and â€Å"I say we have no more marriage† (3.1. 159-160) while he is alone with her inside of the castle. This makes the audience believe that Hamlet does not love Ophelia because he tells her to go live in a whore house, and also calls off the wedding. He only utters these words because he is so wrappedShow MoreRelatedHamlets Love for Ophelia1231 Words   |  5 PagesIntro to Literature Drama Paper Hamlet’s Love   Ã‚      In the tragic play  Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, one of the most common themes found throughout the story’s plot is the theme of love. Shakespeare interlaces many layers of thematic love through the complex relationships of  Hamlet; primarily between Hamlet and Ophelia. 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