ArcelorMittal’s CEO Lakshmi Mittal has reassured an investment of Rs50bn ($670mn) for the capacity expansion of Hazira plant in India, according to local media. The steel tycoon earmarked an investment Rs200bn for the expansion of operations in Hazira, Gujarat, as per reports quoting Mittal’s video call to Gujarat’s chief minister Vijay Rupani.
Mittal also said that AMNS is operating at 100pc capacity.
ArcelorMittal along with Nippon Steel acquired Essar Steel in December 2019 for Rs500bn and rechristened it has ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel or AMNS. The company has an integrated plant in Hazira, which produces flat-rolled steel products including anti-collision steel for the auto sector. ArcelorMittal group’s Rs50bn investment would ramp up Hazira plant’s annual capacity to 8.6mn mt from 6.8mn mt, while the Rs200bn investment will be for capacity enhancement through infrastructure including development of a captive port and railway connectivity. Earlier in December 2019, Mittal had promised Rupani Rs420bn investment in Gujarat.
AMNS’s flagship Hazira plant is close to the Arabian Sea and has a deep draft port and is well-connected to the rail network. The Hazira works include 1.7mn mt annual capacity blast furnace, 6.8mn mt DRI units, 4.6mn mt EAF, 5.0mn mt Conarc furnace.
In February, AMNS secured Thakurani iron ore mine in Keonjhar, Odisha through a bidding process. ArcelorMittal plans to invest Rs20bn in the state of Odisha. Last week, AMNS held an inaugural ceremony at the mine.
AMNS has a total installed annual steel production capacity of 8.5mn mt. AMNS also has iron ore pelletization units with an annual capacity of 14mn mt in eastern India.