South Korean steel giant POSCO has expressed interest in setting up a greenfield steel plant in the premises of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited’s (RINL) Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant, according to the steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s written reply to Rajya Sabha.
A non-binding memorandum of understanding between the two companies to the effect was signed in late 2019. Earlier, another major South Korean steelmaker, Hyundai Steel, was also considering setting up the plant on the premises. A meeting to this effect had taken place between representatives of POSCO, RINL, National Mineral Development Corporation as well as Hyundai Steel in 2018 before the MOU with POSCO was signed.
POSCO would have a 50pc stake in the said steel plant, while RINL’s stake is being worked out based on the value of the land.