INDIA STEEL INDUSTRY BRIEFS

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources

POSCO and SAIL in Close Cooperation

South Korea’s POSCO, the world’s fourth-largest steel company, has signed a partnership deal with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), India’s largest steel maker, which operates six steel plants with an annual capacity of 15 million tons. The partnership should assist POSCO in launching its planned $12 billion steel complex in Orissa, which ran into opposition over the exporting of Indian iron ore set against imports of high-grade iron. The steel project would be India’s largest foreign direct investment (FDI) project. The companies are proposing a wide range of cooperation for personnel and corporate strategy planning to R&D projects. They will also work together in procuring raw materials, development and marketing in India.

Land Bought at Grassroots Level for Titanium Oxide Project

Tata Steel has set a target to acquire 1,000 acres of land by the end of the year for its proposed, and locally disputed, titanium oxide project in India’s Tuticorin district. The company has bought 10 acres at $2,200 an acre and is to continue to deal with 7,538 small landowners and peasants directly on the basis of land being categorized by the district administration into land with vegetation and irrigational facility, and land with vegetation without wells. The 10 acres were on land with vegetation and water facility. Villagers’ views on the project are crucial to get the state’s go-ahead.

Tata Sets November Date for Start on Orissa Plant

Tata Steel has experienced more land and site problems for its major $3.65 billion slab and rolled coil project in Orissa with a tense and bloody standoff with families over compulsory land acquisition on the 2,000-acre site allotted to the project by the state government. Now, after a meeting between the company and state officials, it has been announced that construction on the 6 million tpa will start in November. Tata already has orders in place for $1.1 billion of equipment for the new plant. Larsen &Toubro is supplying and installing the sintering plant and blast furnace in contracts totaling $500 million. Tata Steel is building a 12 million tpa, $9.7 billion steel plant at Jharkhand and a 5 million tpa in Chahattisgarh with an investment of $2.9 billion.

Jindal’s $730 Million Plant Pioneers Amboya Development

Jindal Steel will construct a $730 million plant in Himachal Pradesh and is in the process of buying land for the site. Two years ago, the project was cleared by the state government, which has decided to develop the Amboya region into an industrial area. Once the Jindal steel plant is in operation, the state government hopes that other companies will set up operations in the region. The Jindal plant is expected to create 2,000 jobs.

Carbon Steel Imports Up Over Last Year

Finished carbon-steel imports into India during the four-month period of April-July were up 60.2% over the same period in 2006. During the 2007 period, imports stood at 1.45 million tons compared with 0.905 million tons in 2006. Exports during the same period were up 7.2% from 1.632 million tons in the four-month period in 2006 to 1.75 million tons this year. Production of finished carbon steel rose by 4.1% to 15.5 million tons in the period and pig iron rose 13.8% and 12 millimeter plates were up by 1.45%.

Arcelor Mittal Seeks Ore for $20 Billion Projects

With plans to set up two 12 million tpa plants in Orissa and Jharkhand, Arcelor Mittal is looking for mining licenses for 1.2 billion tons of iron ore, with 600 million tons coming from each state. A company source said the company expected the first-phase production of 6 million tons of steel to start by 2011 and the second phase to be completed by 2016. He said that the Orissa project is at an advanced stage and that land acquisition and other clearances for the projects should be through within 12 months. The company will make a total investment of $20 billion in the two projects.

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