Ajaokuta is a
Local Government Area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
in
Kogi State
Kogi State is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti State, Ekiti and Kwara State, Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Fe ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
and a town within it on the left bank of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...
. The headquarters of the LGA are in the town of Egayin in the south of the area at .
It has an area of 1,362 km and a population of 122,321 at the 2006 census. As of 2008 Ajaokuta, the town, had an estimated population of 16,039.
The
postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...
of the area is 263.
Ajaokuta Steel Mill
The town is the home of the multibillion-dollar
Ajaokuta Steel Mill, the largest steel mill in Nigeria. Begun by the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1979 under a cooperation agreement with Nigeria, the complex reached 98% completion by 1994.
The steelworks have been called the "bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialization". However, the project has been mismanaged, and the steel mill has not produced a single sheet of steel .
Transport
The town is not connected to the
Nigerian railway system, except by river. In 1987, a contract was awarded for the construction of a
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
railway from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steelworks at Ajaokuta, continuing to the Atlantic Ocean port city of
Warri
The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...
. The
Warri–Ajaokuta–Itakpe line is still incomplete , and the section from Itakpe to Ajaokuta has been vandalised. The Nigerian government plans to repair the railway and put it into operation in June 2018.
Climate
The climate is hot and humid, with temperatures ranging from 61°F to 96°F during the dry season, and rarely falling below or above 102°F.
See also
*
Railway stations in Nigeria
Railway stations in Nigeria include:
Maps
UN MapUNHCR Atlas Map Cities served by rail
The East (E) and West (W) lines are connected by the Link Line.
West Line
* Apapa (W) - Lagos. Port ; flour mill ; oil terminals
* Lagos (W) (0&nbs ...
References
External links
Local Government Areas in Kogi State
Towns in Yorubaland
{{Kogi-geo-stub