Arcelor Mittal sees huge demand for steel

Global steel behemoth Arcelor Mittal is looking at ways to promote steel consumption in the country.

Briefing mediapersons after discussions with state major industries minister J Geeta Reddy in Hyderabad this morning, Arcelor Mittal board member Malay Mukherjee said the company was looking at various measures, including investments and bringing in best practices, in cost-effective use of steel.

"The per capita use of steel in India is 45 kg as against 280 kg in China and 500 kg in developed nations, which shows the huge potential to drive steel consumption in the country. With India poised to grow exponentially on all fronts, we foresee a significant demand for steel in the coming years and our efforts for steel-intensive activities are in line with this," Mukherjee said.

According to him, replacing wood with steel would be the major initiative to boost steel consumption.

On the two steel plants Arcelor Mittal is setting up in India with a total investment of $20 billion, he said the plants would have a capacity of six million tonne each, which the company plans to double in four or five years.

"Acquisition of 8,000 acre in Keonjhar district of Orissa is currently on, while we are yet to finalise the location for the second plant in Jharkhand," he said adding the company had already been awarded a coal block each in the two states.