AM/NS India commissions auto steel line at Hazira plant to reduce imports

Hazira facility can produce high-strength steel of up to 1,180 MPa for automotive use; part of Rs 8,500 crore expansion to lift downstream capacity to 5 mt

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India on Wednesday announced the commissioning of an auto-focused continuous galvanising line (CGL) at Hazira, Gujarat, aimed at import substitution.

 

This is part of a Rs 8,500 crore investment in the expansion of its downstream business, which will achieve a capacity of 5 million tonnes (mt) by the end of the year once all lines are commissioned at Hazira. At present, the capacity across downstream units is 3.3 mt.

 

Dilip Oommen, chief executive officer, AM/NS India, said this continuous galvanising line, specifically for the auto sector, was capable of producing the highest strength coated steels in India.

 

 

“It’s a start for us to get into the high-end automotive business. This will substitute imports—products hitherto being imported will be produced in India,” he added.

 

The new facility is engineered to manufacture high-grade steel for automotive applications with strength levels of up to 1,180 megapascals (MPa). 

 

The company mentioned that the new CGL is equipped with cutting-edge technology derived from the global expertise of its parent companies, ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel. It will manufacture galvanised (GI) and galvannealed (GA) coated flat steels, including licensed products from both ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.

 

Oommen also said that the line would be useful for the automotive sector from a CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) Phase III environmental norms perspective, set to come into effect from April 2027.

 

Ranjan Dhar, director and vice-president – sales and marketing at AM/NS India, said the current import dependency of the auto sector is 12–15 per cent. “With this line getting commissioned, the need for import will be almost zero,” he said.

 

The new unit is part of a Rs 60,000 crore expansion project that was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the groundbreaking in 2022. It takes the overall capacity at Hazira from the current level of 9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 15 mtpa.

 

However, the goal is to reach 24 mtpa capacity at Hazira, which includes both upstream and downstream steelmaking capabilities.

 

In addition, there are plans to set up integrated steel plants in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.