- Saturday, July 27, 2024
Lakshmi Mittal says the expansion at Hazira plant in Gujarat is moving fast
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
ARCELORMITTAL executive chairman Lakshmi N Mittal has said his company’s Indian joint venture with Nippon Steel will commission its facility in Gujarat in three years.
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) India, formed in 2019 following the acquisition of Essar Steel, is scaling up the capacity of its integrated flat steel plant at Hazira to 15 million tonnes. The joint venture is investing Rs 600 billion (£5.9 bn) in the project.
Mittal said the expansion work at the facility was moving at a fast pace with more than 20,000 people involved in the project construction.
“We have full confidence that with the cooperation of the centre (union government) and Gujarat government, we will be able to commission the project by 2026,” he said at the 20th year celebrations of the biannual investor summit Vibrant Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Wednesday (27).
“It is our target to double our production capacity in the first phase and then triple…we will also make advanced products for technology,” Mittal told PTI.
He said once the project became operational, it would contribute to India’s self-reliance efforts by reducing the country’s steel imports.
The tycoon said the success of the G20 summit in New Delhi enhanced India’s image as a global consensus builder.
He said Gujarat, which had industries in sectors like automobile, electric vehicles, green hydrogen and semiconductors, provided reliable infrastructure and a stable policy environment.
In June, AMNS India announced a collaboration with the French digital automation and energy management firm Schneider Electric on the design of high-tech training facilities and programmes in ”smart manufacturing”.
