The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Mohammed Musa Sada, has said the initial developers of the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Complex have indicated an interest to return and complete it as well as ensure digital operations in the complex.

He said the presentations the firms made showed how they could complete the plant and modernise it from analog to digital.

The Minister who disclosed this when he paid a working visit to the Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, called for partnership with the state government in developing the mineral potential of the state and the nation in general.

"When you look at the mineral potential of the state and try to put it on a scale, you can hardly get any state that surpasses Kogi. This therefore makes the state a home to the ministry of mines and steel development," Sada said, noting that one of the mandates of the sector "was to make sure that coal is made available to complement 30 percent power supply by 2015 as well as ensure Nigeria produces 30 million tonnes of steel, " which, he said, was hardly achievable without recourse to the coal deposits of Kogi State as it was well known that the heart of steel production was in Itakpe.

Governor Wada was optimistic that the moribund sector will be turned around with the dynamic and committed leadership of the minister, and assured him of the willingness of the state to partner with the federal government to achieve this goal.