The Indian government has allowed construction companies to use steel from secondary producers in projects to build highways, whereas sourcing was previously restricted to primary steel producers, a government official said on Monday, February 15.
The official said that Minister for Highways and Roads, Nitin Gadkari, has for the past several weeks been claiming that domestic steel producers were cartelizing to increase prices and enabling use of steel from secondary producers would enable construction companies to widen their procurement base and ensure more competitive bidding for supplies.
“With this step, the suppliers’ base for steel used in construction of national highways will increase, leading to more competition and better price discovery by the markets. This is also part of the continuous effort by the minister to reduce costs through new technology, reducing restrictions on suppliers and making the procurement system more transparent,” a government statement said.