Indian and foreign steel equipment manufacturers have signed 38 agreements for joint ventures for capital goods for iron and steel industry, envisaging a total investment of $5 billion, facilitated by the Ministry of Steel, a government official said on Wednesday, October 24.
The 38 agreements signed are between 20 Indian and foreign companies specializing in plant and equipment supplies to iron and steel industry, the official said.
The proposed joint ventures are for domestic production of coke oven batteries, blast furnaces, rolling mills, iron ore crushers and beneficiations as also transfer of technology of equipment manufacturing from overseas companies to their Indian partners, the official added.
The foreign capital goods manufacturers that signed agreement for joint ventures included majors like ACRE China, CSM Italy, Paul Wurth Luxemburg and Danieli Corus, while Indian partners included Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), JSW Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Mecon Limited and Bharat Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited.
The official said that to incentivize conversion of agreements into investment and production, the Ministry of Steel will work out a “purchase preference policy” under which procurement of steel making equipment from these joint ventures will be given preference over imports in course of steel project construction.