Arcelor Mittal-Nippon Steel Seeks Govt Support

Arcelor Mittal-Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India has approached the government, seeking specific policy support to an ambitious plan to expand its steel-making capacity in India with “significant investments”. The company is prim

BY Realty Plus
Published - Monday, 23 Nov, 2020

Arcelor Mittal-Nippon Steel Seeks Govt Support

Arcelor Mittal-Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India has approached the government, seeking specific policy support to an ambitious plan to expand its steel-making capacity in India with “significant investments”. The company is primarily evaluating the option of a large green-field facility in eastern India, but may also opt for further expansion through the inorganic route. AM/NS India, a 60:40 joint venture between world’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation, had acquired Essar Steel’s 9.6 million tonne Hazira plant for `42,785 crore in December. This was the country’s largest stressed-asset deal and marked Arcelor-Mittal’s entry into India’s potentially fast-growing steel industry. AM/NS India had recently made a presentation to Union steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the firm’s likely investment proposals in the country. They also explained to the minister the support that the company would be requiring, from the Centre and the concerned state governments for the plans to materialise. “It was a fruitful meeting in which we explained our ambitions to expand our steelmaking footprint in India in the future. We also discussed with the minister the appropriate backdrop which would provide us with the confidence to make significant investment to fulfil the ambitious plans,” Dilip Oommen, CEO, AM/NS India. AM/NS India has already announced a plan to enhance the finished steelmaking capacity at Hazira to 12-15 mtpa from 6.5 mtpa now. However, the larger plan, which is being discreetly shared with the government, is to expand its India footprint via a green-field facility in the eastern part of the country. The idea is also to bank on the government’s ‘Purvodaya’ initiative that encourages the setting up of new steel plants. In sync with its strategy, in February, AM/NS India bagged an iron ore mine with estimated reserves of 180 million tonne in Odisha through competitive bidding. Arcelor Mittal will undertake all steel capacity expansion in India through the joint venture entity, at least for the time being. On its own, Arcelor Mittal had executed with the Karnataka government a lease-cum-sale agreement for 2,643 acre on December 26, 2018, for its proposed 6 mtpa steel plant with a captive 750 MW power plant, but its latest annual report said, “The project is currently under review”.