Steel’s mega comeback

BRITISH billionaire industrialist Sanjeev Gupta, backed by heavyweight Chinese investors, has flagged plans to build one of the world’s biggest steel plants in Australia.

Mr Gupta yesterday said construction of the “next gen mega steel plant” at Whyalla, 380km north of Adelaide, would follow a $600 million upgrade of existing steelworks.

His company, GFG Alliance, brought that plant out of administration last year.

As a result of the initial upgrade, steel production at Whyalla would rise from about 1 million tonnes a year to 1.8 million tonnes within three years, Mr Gupta said. The new plant, to be built by the China Metallurgical Group Corporation, would be capable of producing at least 10 million tonnes of steel a year.

Mr Gupta yesterday outlined the vision in Whyalla, flanked by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and South Australian Premier Steven Marshall.

A $40 million feasibility study will now be undertaken.

“Our cutting-edge transformation plans for our existing steel plant are just the beginning of what GFG Alliance has in store for the region,” Mr Gupta said.

“Utilising almost perfect local conditions — our own infrastructure including a deep-sea port, rich local resources and unrivalled community passion — we now plan to build a new steel plant, one of the world’s largest, right here in Whyalla.”

Mr Gupta said the new plant would focus on production of semifinished steel — slabs, blooms and billets, which would be exported to downstream operations in key strategic and growing world markets.

“Thousands of job opportunities will be created,” he said.