The Government on Friday said it is planning to set up scrap-based steel plants in north and west parts of India to augment the country’s production capacity. “We are examining the feasibility of setting up scrap-based steel plants,” Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said during Make in Steel Conference here. Stressing that the scrap-based steel plants are environment-friendly, energy-efficient and cost effective, he said that these plants would be on the lines of ‘melt and manufacture’ steel technology used in the US.
“I would like you to deliberate on the cost-benefit analysis of setting up scrap-based steel plants in north and west India. These regions are important form the perspective of scrap-availability and steel import hubs. The plants will have the capability to produce special high-grade steels, a pre-requisite for ‘Make in Steel’,” the Minister said.
India, he said, imports around six million tonnes of scrap steel every year and is the second largest importer of scrap after Turkey adding that by 2025, the country will be able to generate 7.5 million tonnes of scrap every year.