Al-Tuwairqi to invest $900m to upgrade steel plant in Karachi

TSML, POSCO sign MoU with Pakistan to expand business operations.

KARACHI: Al-Tuwairqi Holding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Posco – the world’s third largest steelmaker by market value – signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Pakistan for backward and forward integration of the Tuwairqi Steel Mills (TSML) – Pakistan’s first private sector integrated environment-friendly steel manufacturing complex. Estimated investment hovers around $900 million for realisation of all these projects.

Forward integration will allow further value addition through a melt shop, producing world standard steel grades, while backward integration will be to the extent of exploring iron ore locally in Balochistan, its beneficiation and pelletisation, said a press statement. Estimated investment hovers around $900 million for realisation of all these projects.

Under the MoU, Pakistan will facilitate TSML in developing mines and utilisation of iron ore as raw material for TSML’s relevant plants.

Posco also expressed interest in exploring business opportunities with Pakistan in engineering, procurement and construction services in the fields of infrastructure and industrial, environmental, electric power and oil and gas facilities.

TSML recently kicked off the commercial production at its direct reduced iron (DRI) making plants with the capacity to produce up to 1.28 million tons per annum of high quality DRIs. The first phase had completed with an overall investment of $350 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2013.

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