Al-Tuwairqi and POSCO to exit from Pakistan

Well - here is a shocking news report.

It would seem that Al-Tuwairqi of Saudi Arabia and POSCO of South Korea, who together invested in the TSML DRI plant in Pakistan, have been unable to secure the low-cost natural gas needed to operate the new DRI facility. Requests to the government of Pakistan to consider TSML’s position have seemingly been ignored; with the result that the DRI plant has not operated since Septem­ber 2013.

In a board meeting held on 27^th January 2015 in Dam­­mam, Al-Tuwairqi and POSCO thus decided to permanently close the facility and to exit Pakistan. The investment in the DRI facility was around $340 million. TSML on completion of its integration with steel production was envisioned to be the largest fully integrated steel complex in Pakistan with a capacity of ~1.5 million tonnes per annum. TSML’s exit from Pakistan will therefore be a real blow to the industry.

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Andrzej M Kotas

Chief Executive

www.steelonthenet.com