Nippon Steel to Double Crude Steel Output Capacity in India

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corporation announced plans to almost double crude steel output capacity at its Hazira plant in western India. The move will help the company to boost its market share. The decision comes in the midst of anticipated slowdown in the global economy.

According to Takahiro Mori, Executive Vice President, the company regards India as the only market that is expected to record significant growth. Consequently, the company plans to accelerate investments in the country.

Nippon Steel plans to build new furnaces at Hazira plant, which in turn would increase the annual output capacity at the plant from current levels of about 8 million tonnes to anywhere between 14 million tonnes and 15 million tonnes. However, the company did not disclose the planned investment amount or other details of the project. The steelmaker will focus on tapping local demand.

Further, Nippon Steel announced plans to further expand AM/NS India- the joint venture steel project with ArcelorMittal established in 2019. As part of strengthening its steel portfolio, the company plans to buy some infrastructure assets from Essar Group for a sum of $2.4 million.