The leading Indian galvanized steel producer, Uttam Galva Steels Limited (Uttam Galva), has announced massive production expansion plans in response to increased domestic and global demand.
As part of its international expansion, Uttam Galva has entered into a joint venture with the UK-based trading company Liberty Commodities to set up a new steel mill in Ghana to be named Ghana Iron & Steel Co (Gisco). The new mill will include a HDG line with an annual capacity of 75,000 metric tons, and also a cold reversing mill with an annual capacity of 200,000-250,000 metric tons which will supply the HDG line with CRC. The $20 million-worth HDG line will be put into operation by the end of 2007, while the $40 million-worth cold rolling mill is expected to start producing next year. Until the cold rolled mill begins production, CRC will be imported from India and Bangladesh. On the other hand, the finished HDG will mostly be supplied to the domestic market, with only a small share to be sold to the other West African markets.
In the Indian domestic market, Uttam Galva is currently implementing a project to increase its cold rolled steel capacity to one million metric tons per year and its HDG capacity to 750,000 metric tons annually by the end of 2007.