The Iranian government is seeking $7.5 billion of Indian investment for construction of ports, infrastructure and steel mills in the Persian Gulf nation, a senior official at India’s steel and mines ministry said on Tuesday, September 22.
In interaction between Indian and Iranian government officials over the past two months, the Iranian government apart from investments in these sectors has also sought to source at least 3 million mt of steel rails that will be required to interlink various industrial hubs in Iran, the official said.
The Indian steel and mines ministry has as a follow up asked the government-owned trading firm State Trading Corporation (STC) to draw up an agreement for supplies of steel rails to Iran and to back it up with contracts with Indian steel mills for export of steel rails as required by the Iranian government.
The ministry earlier this month also held talks with seven of the largest Indian steel mills, including Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, urging Indian steel companies to seize opportunities to construct steel mills in Iran, the official said.