Gabon: Prometal Launches $38 Billion Steel Complex
Gabon is witnessing the emergence of a $38 billion steel complex, promoted by Prometal, which is expected to produce 120,000 tons of reinforced steel per year. This infrastructure is expected to meet regional needs and capture the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area. A plan to absorb local labor is also in place.
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The first-phase metallurgical infrastructure is backed by a capital envelope of $38 billion, formalizing the investment agreement signed on February 18, 2025, between the industrial operator led by Hayssam El Jammal and the Gabonese state. The financial and operational engineering of the project was coordinated by the JMJ Africa Gabon firm, paving the way for a nominal installed capacity of 120,000 tons of reinforced steel (Fe 400 and Fe 500 standards) intended to cover regional infrastructure needs and capture the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) single market.
The industrial roadmap integrates a deployment schedule configured in two successive stages to optimize value chains. The initial production lines will process recycled scrap to deliver, in addition to reinforced steel, an annual volume of 12,000 tons of tubes, 18,000 tons of 6-inch steel, as well as homogeneous batches of 6,000 tons of black plate, 6,000 tons of galvanized and aluminum coatings, and 6,000 tons of points. The later phase plans to integrate upstream supplies through direct exploitation and thermal processing of iron ore in the Gabonese subsoil, ensuring complete autonomy from foreign billet imports. The commissioning of the industrial hub is accompanied by a plan to absorb local labor, projecting the recruitment of 350 permanent technicians and the development of 1,000 indirect jobs in the logistics and ferrous scrap collection segments.
The cross-border deployment of the company, which already operates five manufacturing complexes in Cameroon, modifies the balance of trade flows in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). The emergence of an integrated Gabonese steel offer is likely to reduce the sectoral trade deficit of the sub-region, which has traditionally been dependent on maritime flows from Europe and Asia. The economic balance of the industrial model remains subject to the stability of high-voltage electricity supply in the Nkok area, the fluidity of continental customs corridors, and the maintenance of protective customs measures to counter the dumping of imported steel on sub-regional consumer markets.
Nlend Flore
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