Indian state-owned steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Japanese steel producer Kobe Steel have established a 50-50 joint venture company called SAIL-KOBE Iron India Private Limited in Durgapur in West Bengal, according to media reports.
The new iron making plant, which will produce 500,000 mt of iron nuggets per year using the Iron Making Technology Mark-3 (ITmk3) developed by Kobe Steel, will use iron ore from SAIL's mines.
The construction of the plant is expected to start in 2013, while the plant will go into operation in 2015.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in March the companies announced that they would carry out a detailed feasibility study for the planned joint venture.