JSW Steel plans jt venture for plant in Georgia

Mumbai: JSW Steel is to enter into a joint venture for setting up a steel plant in Rustavi, Georgia.

The estimated project cost of $42 million is to be financed through $28 million debt and $14 million as equity.

Of the total equity capital required, up to 49 per cent — $6.86 million — will be invested by JSW Steel through its wholly owned subsidiary JSW Steel (Netherlands) B.V. and the remaining $7.14 million will be held by the joint venture partner.

The company has identified an opportunity for manufacturing TMT Bars (rebars) to cater to the growing needs of the construction industry in Eastern European countries, mainly Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and former CIS countries.

Board approval

The board has approved the proposal to invest to the extent of 49 per cent of equity in Geo Steel LLC (GSL) — a company incorporated under the laws of Georgia — which is setting up a steel rolling mill facility in Georgia with an initial capacity of 1,75,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) rebars.

The plant is being designed to produce rebars through the hot rolling process by using constructional steel billets produced through the electric arc furnace route.