India’s Ministry of Steel will hold a meeting to facilitate the signing of joint ventures between Indian and foreign steel mill equipment manufacturers aiming to attract investments to the tune of $5 billion over the next five years, Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birendra Singh said on Friday, October 19.
The minister said that at least 20 preliminary agreements are expected to be signed between Indian steel mill equipment manufacturers and foreign companies under which the latter will provide technology to either expand or set up new projects to enhance domestic capacity for manufacturing steel mill equipment.
According to the minister, some of the proposed joint ventures between Indian and overseas capital goods manufacturing companies are also expected to see participation of Indian steel companies so that the latter could ensure higher domestic sourcing, replacing high-cost imports, to meet their requirement of steelmaking equipment.
Foreign steel mills manufacturers from eight countries, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Germany Netherlands, Finland, China and Japan, are expected to participate in the meeting to sign preliminary memorandum of understandings with leading Indian capital good manufacturers like BHEL Limited, HEC Limited, Larsen and Toubro, to set up manufacturing bases in India, the minister said.
The steel ministry has estimated that, if India is to achieve its targeted increase in domestic steel production to 300 million mt per year, the country will need to import $25 billion worth of equipment and the ministry’s present intervention is aimed at reducing this import component by increasing domestic manufacturing capacity.