Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) is planning to expand its Hazira plant’s capacity by 5mn mt to bring it up to 14mn mt in three years.
Once the logistics are in place, the company might take up the second phase of expansion to increase its capacity to 18 mn mt at the Gujarat plant, said Dilip Oommen, CEO, AM/NS India.
The estimated cost of expansion along with the downstream processes is $6.84bn.
The company is in talks with the Gujarat government for buying land for the second phase. At present, they are concentrating on the rail, road, and waterway facilities for the second phase.
The steelmaker is also planning a new 12mn mt steel plant in Odisha, and has signed an. MoU with the Odisha government.
The firm has received $1.98bn investment for these two projects.
With the surge in steel prices and the increase in demand since last year, steel majors are drawing new expansion plans. This will increase the capacity of Indian steel industry by 29 mn mt by FY24. However, a $109.48/mt gap in hot-rolled coil prices in Indian and global steel prices remains despite the recent surge in prices.