Firing On All Cylinders: Essar Group Reclaims Its Place In Steel

The Ruias-controlled Essar Group after exiting most of its steel assets years ago to clear debts is now more confident and assertive today than ever before. In fact, Essar is now firing on all cylinders for big ticket investment plans spread across the U.S., Saudi Arabia, India and others. Recently, the conglomerate captured major international headlines when the U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Essar-backed Mesabi Metallics will invest $18 billion to build America’s largest integrated steel plant complex in Iowa, America — producing 10 MTPA of steel annually using iron ore from Essar mines in Minnesota, USA. Similarly, in Saudi Arabia also, Essar is said to be gearing up to set up 4 MTPA green steel plant in Ras Al-Khair to capture the Middle Eastern industrial boom. And in India, Essar is executing a Rs 12,000 crore project to build a 14 million tonne iron ore pellet complex in Keonjhar in Odisha and a slurry pipeline to Paradip port. Essar’s aspiration does not end here, it is now going back to its roots Gujarat.  Sources say Essar is also exploring an investment of $ 5 billion in the next few years to set up a 8-million tonne steel manufacturing plant in Gujarat. It may be mentioned Essar Steel was among the first list of the largest 12 stressed accounts that the RBI had drawn up in June 2017. The company was acquired by ArcelorMittal in 2019 under the NCLT and a final Supreme Court ruling.