International Steels’ new plant comes on line

Its production capacity goes up to 1 million tons per annum

KARACHI: A new plant of International Steels Limited (ISL) has started functioning, increasing the mill’s cold-rolling capacity to 1 million tons per annum.

The addition has enabled the company to keep its position as Pakistan’s largest producer of cold-rolled products. It has invested Rs5.6 billion in the expansion phase.

According to Pak-Kuwait Investment Company AVP Research Adnan Sami Sheikh, ISL competitor Aisha Steel’s expansion was due in 2019, which will increase its production capacity to around 0.8 million tons.



“Pakistan is a country with nil iron production,” Sheikh said. “Steel makes up around 9% of our import bill. Approximately 45% of these imports are either in finished or value-added form. ISL’s expansion will bridge the gap between the country’s increasing steel requirement and the domestic capacity for value addition.”

Pakistan’s overall import bill for the past 11 months stood at $50.7 billion against exports of $22.8 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $27.9 billion. According to Sheikh, the country’s steel imports alone stand at $5 billion.

“Besides operational efficiencies and economies of scale, ISL will also be eligible for a 10% tax credit on its Rs5.6-billion investment. It will retain its monopoly in domestic production of galvanised steel until Aisha Steel’s expansion comes next year,” he said.



This expansion will allow ISL to produce a greater volume of zinc-coated or galvanised sheets which are further up the steel value chain.

ISL Company Secretary Uzma Amjad Ali said, “With this expansion, ISL will become the largest producer of flat products in the country, resulting in a significant reduction in dependence on imported steel products as well as invaluable savings of foreign exchange.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2018.

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