JSW Steel will invest over ₹50,000 crore to create 10 MTPA of green steel capacity: Sajjan Jindal

JSW Steel chairman and managing director Sajjan Jindal said on Tuesday the company will invest over ₹50,000 crore over the next three-four years to create 10 million tonnes per annum of green steel capacity at a plant near Mumbai.

The investment is necessitated because of a European mandate on green steel.

"We will be investing ₹50,000-60,000 crore for the green steel capacity," Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.

He also said that this will be a brownfield investment at its plant in Raigad district's Salav.

Last month, the steelmaker had announced plans to raise the green steel capacity at Salav to 4 MTPA in phases.

Jindal further said that the 10 MTPA capacity will emit a fifth of the carbon as used by conventional plants currently.

China & Vietnam trying to dump steel

"China and Vietnam are trying to dump steel," Jindal said, adding that the government is working on putting safeguard duties which will be in place in "a few days".

The strong steel demand on the back of high economic growth is attracting the world's attention, Jindal said.

The Indian government is careful to ensure that there is no profiteering by steel companies, he said, explaining the reasons for having the safeguards.

China is at its peak from a steel consumption perspective and scaling back production, he said, adding that it is looking at world markets to sell the excess steel, Jindal said.

Last year, China exported 120 million tonnes of steel.

Given the 10-12 per cent growth in demand every year, India needs to add 20 million tonnes of steel capacity per year which works out to an investment of $20 billion per year.

The $24-billion group's arm JSW Steel is aiming to be the largest steel producer in the world with a capacity of 100 million tonnes per year from the present 34.2 MTPA.

The diversified group is looking to manufacture battery cells in India using Chinese technology, Jindal said, adding that the group is also in touch with a Korean company for the same technology.