AM/NS India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel, is set to establish an integrated steel project of 17.8 million tonnes capacity, with a proposed aggregate investment of INR 1.4 lakh crore, in the Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh. This would be one of the largest greenfield projects in recent times.
In the first phase of the project, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel will establish a 7.3 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity blast furnace steel plant with an initial investment of INR 80,000 crore.
The company has sought 2,600 acres of land for the first phase. In the second phase, AM/NS will add a capacity of 10.5 MMTPA with an investment of INR 60,000 crore and has sought an additional 2,000 acres of land.
According to government sources, about 1,800 acres of land is readily available adjacent to Nakkapalli bulk drug park and can be provided.
Speaking exclusively to ET, Manoranjan Kumar, chief of ports operations and development at AM/NS, said: “We plan to have a steel manufacturing capacity of 40 MMTPA by 2035. As part of this expansion plan, we were looking for coastal locations in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The key issues in setting up a steel project are the availability of land and port facilities. Nakkapalli fulfills both the criteria.”
The steel project was swung on a Zoom call between Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh and ArcelorMittal CEO and billionaire scion Aditya Mittal in July.
Speaking exclusively to ET, Lokesh said: “We heard that AM/NS was scouting and I reached out to their India team to understand their requirements. I then connected with Aditya Mittal and set up a Zoom call, where we discussed and closed things. Finally, the chief minister had a call with Mr Lakshmi Mittal to give finishing touches to the investment.”
A Captive Jetty
The biggest ask of AM/NS at Nakkapalli is a captive jetty. “It helps in sourcing raw material globally and at internationally competitive prices. This is important in our strategy to expand. The site at Nakkapalli is very promising on this account,” said Kumar of AM/NS.
