ArcelorMittal invests in new Paradip steel plant in India

ArcelorMittal's Luxembourg headquarters have announced plans to build a new steel plant in India. The proposed plant will be built at Paradip, a major maritime city in the state of Odisha. It is expected that the plant will be able to have a production capacity of 3-6 million tons per year.

The decision to build a new plant is part of ArcelorMittal's long-term plan to increase Essar Steel's steel production capacity from 5.6 million tonnes per year to 12-15 million tonnes in two stages. The company is said to be in the final stages of taking over distressed assets of Essar Steel. The new steel plant will be built next to Essar Steel's existing European pelletizing unit, said Aditya Mittal, President of ArcelorMittal.

At the first stage, it is planned to increase the capacity to 6.5 million tons per year by 2019-2020. This includes ongoing capex projects that span multiple plants, including the Paradip pellet plant. The program also focuses on a comprehensive plan for sustainable environmental management and offers innovative solutions to stimulate sourcing of raw materials, improve sales and product mix, and improve the safety and health of its employees. In the second phase, ArcelorMittal plans to increase its steel production capacity to 8.5 million tonnes by 2024.

The construction of the new plant is in line with the government's vision of increasing the country's steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes per year by 2030, as outlined in the National Steel Industry Policy (NSP).