On January 12, the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) in Dubai, UAE, announced that Jebel Ali Free Zone is to become home to a steel processing and service centre for Indian multinational conglomerate Essar Group's subsidiary Essar Steel Middle East FZE. A long-term lease agreement on a 25,000 square metre property in the free zone was signed by Dr. Mohammed Al Banna, senior vice president of JAFZA's commercial sales, and B. Sivakumar, director of Essar Steel Middle East FZE.
Accordingly, located out of Jebel Ali Free Zone South, Essar Steel Middle East FZE will be a 250,000 metric tons per annum processing center supplying world class, mill guaranteed, and quality products. Essar Steel already runs India's largest steel service centre operations with 2.5 million metric tons per annum, and has an annual global capacity of 14 million metric tons.
The new facility is designed to serve Essar's expanding regional client base in consumer sectors, such as automotive, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding.
Commenting on the decision to establish a base in Jebel Ali, Mr. Sivakumar said, "With the global financial crisis taking its toll in the form of tighter lending and lower credit availability, Essar Steel's latest offering promises to change the landscape of steel usage in the Middle East through swifter turnarounds, lower wastages, better productivity, lower working capital requirements and consequently a leaner and more profitable supply chain in the region. Establishing a base in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, one of the region's oldest and largest business hubs, gives us a strategic platform to implement our growth plans in the region."