Consensus On SAIL, ArcelorMittal Joint Venture Likely In Two Months

Consensus on signing the joint venture deal between SAIL and ArcelorMittal for an auto-grade steel plant is likely in two months at the instance of government think tank NITI Aayog, an official said.

The country's largest steel maker had sought help from NITI Aayog to resolve differences with ArcelorMittal over setting up of Rs 5,000-crore steel plant.

Almost a month ago a meeting was called by NITI Aayog wherein both companies were asked to firm up their joint venture agreement, the official said.

"Both the companies had issues, including pricing mechanism for raw material," the official added.

The government had earlier said that the proposed auto- grade steel plant would be set up close to an automobile hub.

SAIL and ArcelorMittal had in May, 2015 entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the possibility of setting up an auto-grade steel manufacturing facility under a joint venture in India.

Also Read: SAIL, ArcelorMittal Rs 5,000-Crore JV To Be Finalised By May End, Steel Minister Says

A task force team comprising representatives from both SAIL and ArcelorMittal has been working on detailed due diligence and preliminary feasibility study and all other issues for setting up the joint venture company.

The JV will also focus on producing specialised grade steel products for defence, space and automobiles.

It will construct a cold rolling mill and other downstream finishing facilities in India, touted as one of the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world with production expected to double between 2014 and 2020, from 3.6 million units to 7.3 million units.