India’s Ministry of Steel has initiated talks with major steel producers in Japan and South Korea to push for a joint venture with state-run Indian steel companies for a greenfield steel mill project, a senior ministry official said on Thursday, September 20.
The official stated that a proposal to construct a 5 million mt per year greenfield steel mill for production of high-grade steel has been put on the table with Japanese and South Korean steel majors including Nippon Steel and POSCO.
The Indian government is looking at an investment to the tune of $4.16 billion to be funded by the two joint venture partners.
The official said that the Indian government through the Ministry of Steel will nudge state-run steel companies like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and Steel Authority of India Limited as lead partners in such a joint venture.
The Indian government for its part will also ensure that Indian steel companies are awarded new iron ore blocks so that they can assure raw material security for their prospective joint venture partners.
SAIL has some years ago signed an agreement with POSCO to construct a steel mill in a joint venture adjacent to SAIL’s Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) as land was available at the site. However, the project did not make any headway, but could either be revisited or it might be revised in conjunction with any new partner from Japan or South Korea, the official added.