GMR, Saint Mary’s ink pact to set up global school JSW Steel uses Covid to overhaul US biz

Hyderabad, Aug. 10: GMR Hyderabad Aerotropolis imited (GHAL) said on Monday that it has partnered with the city-based Saint Mary’s Educational Society to set up an international school at the 'Hyderabad Airport City.'

The Sancta Maria International School, a K12 (kindergarten to 12th grade) institution,would come up on 15 acres at the Hyderabad Airport City and the residential academic facility is slated to be unveiled by 2022, a press release from the GMR group said.

The 'Edu Port' at the GMR Hyderabad Airport City today hosts the Schulich School of Business, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, GMR Aviation Academy, Flight Simulation Technique Centre), CFM South Asia Training Centre and Pratt & Whitney India Training Centre, the release said.

Sancta Maria International School envisions to provide the highest standards of education, offering a great learning opportunity for students, the release said. —PTI

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating India's most valuable steelmaker's plans to overhaul its lossmaking US operations.

JSW Steel outlined plans two years ago to invest $1 billion in the US to expand its global footprint. That plan was curtailed by an economic downturn and import tariffs imposed by President Trump, with the situation worsening with the virus outbreak.

The company will spend this year "in structurally fixing" its facilities as the pandemic has resulted in the "lowest spread US steel prices have seen in the last decade," according to Parth Jindal, director of the US operations.

The steelmaker has idled its Ohio plant to begin upgrading its electric arc furnace and plans to restart production at the 1.5 million tonnes facility in March. It has also shut its pipe mill in Baytown to fix equipment and plans to automate and optimise operations to cut costs.

"Our plan is to reduce the losses and be extremely frugal and focus on completing these projects," Jindal said in an interview. "From next year onward, we truly believe the US operations will be wellpositioned to be earningsaccretive to JSW Steel."

As part of a shakeup, JSW last week brought in Mark Bush as the new chief executive officer for its US operations, replacing John Hritz, who will now focus on strategy and legal affairs.

The company has changed its focus from coils to slabs at its Ohio plant as "it is no secret that the US is extremely slab deficient," Jindal said.

—Bloomberg