Afghan Iron & Steel Consortium including seven Indian companies led by the state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) that won mining rights for Afghanistan's biggest iron ore deposit Hajigak mine requests $7.8 billion in state aid and loans for the project. India's steel ministry supports the funding and it is expected to seek approvals from the foreign and finance ministries.
The consortium plans to spend $11 billion to mine the Hajigak deposit located west of Kabul, build a steel mill, a power plant and transport links. The project will help India overtake China as the biggest overseas investor in Afghanistan.
The Hajigak iron ore mines have total reserves of 1.8 billion mt.