Steel Authority of India Limited and Indonesia’s Krakatau Steel are planning to invest up to $350 million in a stainless steel slab manufacturing plant in Indonesia, following a preliminary agreement signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia. The proposed facility will have an annual production capacity of 500,000 metric tonnes and is expected to become operational within three to four years.
As part of the next phase, SAIL will send a technical team to Indonesia to prepare a feasibility report. Based on its findings, the partners will finalise the joint venture’s equity structure, seek regulatory approvals and determine the implementation timeline. The project has also been designed with scope for future capacity expansion after commercial operations begin.
SAIL intends to use the entire output from the Indonesian plant at its Salem Steel Plant in Tamil Nadu, where slabs will be rolled and processed into finished stainless steel products. Most production will cater to the Indian market, with a small share potentially exported to the Middle East and Europe.
India has been strengthening cooperation with resource-rich countries to secure raw materials and boost steel capacity. Domestic demand for finished steel has grown sharply, with consumption rising 55 per cent over the past five years — outpacing the 42 per cent increase in production over the same period.
