The government-owned Steel Authority of India?s (SAIL) plans to sign a joint venture agreement with Korean company Posco is facing another hurdle over the supply of raw materials.
Posco has sought 30-year continuous supply of iron ore for its proposed three million tonne plant near Bokaro. According to steel ministry officials, the Indian steel major is evaluating whether it can assure the security of raw material for such a long period to the Korean major.
SAIL chairman C S Verma at many forums earlier maintained that the agreement would be signed any time soon. The two steel majors signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a three million tonne plant near Bokaro in eastern Jharkhand over a year back. Under the joint venture plans, Posco will bring FINEX technology which is considered to be more environment friendly and is based on iron ore and non-coking coal, which could be a great help for Indian steelmakers who have to import most of their coking coal requirements.
When contacted, steel secretary P K Misra said that it would be in the interest of steel industry to get this technology to India. ?Since we do not have enough coking coal of prime grade, FINEX would be the technology of future because it did not require coking coal at all, so it is in our interest to acquire such technology,? he said.
According to him, it was normal for Posco to seek such assurance as even now steel manufactures are not using the low-garde iron ore. ?It is normal and is always give and take. They are ready to use low grade. But, they (SAIL and Posco) are still negotiating, I do not know what is going to be the final decision,? he told Financial Express. SAIL officials said negotiations were going on with Posco but the details could not be shared till that was over.