SAIL, Kobe JV agreement in four months, plant in Bengal

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Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is expected to sign a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Kobe Steel within 3-4 months that will help it acquire the Japanese company's patented technology.

"We are engaged in a feasibility study about the proposed venture. We are also finalising the JV agreement and hope to complete it in the next three to four months. Following this, we are looking at finalising the JV," SAIL chairman C S Verma said after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee here today.

The two companies are in talks to set up a 0.5 million tonne greenfield steel plant in India utilising Kobe Steel's pioneering steel-making technology, used for value added applications.

"The 0.5 million tonne project with Kobe would be implemented at Alloy Steels Plant at Durgapur and the investment would be Rs 1,500 crore," Verma said.

The new unit will put into use Kobe Steel's iron-making technology to make nuggets. It will produce a special type of alloy steel which will have specific applications.

As far as technology goes, this will be a first-of-its- kind venture for SAIL, Verma added.