Hyundai Explores JV with RINL to Set Up Flat Steel Plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company has expressed interest to set up new flat steel plant in India in partnership with public sector Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL). The company plans to set up the plant at Visakhapatnam in Southern India, which will produce auto grade flat steel products. The talks on a possible joint venture between Hyundai and RINL are said to be at a preliminary stage, sources indicated.

According to RINL sources, a team comprising of South Korean ambassador to India and top company executives had visited the company’s Visakhapatnam plant last month to explore the possibilities of setting up a flat steel plant. The team is supposed to give their feedback on their preliminary site visit to the Indian government. The facility currently produces long products and has sufficient parcel of land to set up new plant at the site.

RINL is said to own nearly 3,000 acres of idle land, where the new plant could be set up. This will allow for construction of a plant with not less than 3 million tonne capacity. The project will enable RINL into high-grade flat steel products for the automotive sector. It must be noted that country’s automotive industry depends on imports to meet its demand for flat steel products such as coils and sheets.

RINL had recently completed an INR 20,000 crore investment plan to upgrade its facilities.