A steel plant in Korea. (Seong Joon Cho/Worldsteel via Getty Images)Pushed by the Prime Minister’s office, the Steel Ministry has initiated talks for a joint venture with Japanese and South Korean steelmakers for a steel plant of five million tonnes per annum (MTPA), Financial Express has reported. The proposed joint venture is estimated to cost Rs 30,000 crore and lead to import substitution of steels used in automotive and other sectors.
The preliminary talks held by officials with several private steelmakers, the government has assured regular ore supplies and adequate land which is already in the possession of RINL.
To give a push for manufacturing high-grade steel under ‘Make In India’, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had instructed steel ministry to initiate negotiations with Japanese and South Korean steelmakers. The steel secretary Binoy Kumar told Financial Express that the shareholding between partners would be decided based on commercial considerations.
The PMO’s decision to bring steel manufacturing to India from these countries is probably motivated by the fact that India is a long-term raw material exporter to these two nations for several decades. The 5 MTPA joint venture steel plant is a move towards ensuring value addition to Indian iron ore within India.
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