Foreign investor to pour EUR 1 bln in Romanian steel mill

British conglomerate GFG Alliance, controlled by Indian investor Sanjeev Gupta, will invest EUR 1 billion in its Romanian integrated steel mill, in Galati.

The investment is part of a EUR 2 billion plan to upgrade the group’s European steel plants that still generate large amounts of emissions and to increase their production, according to Reuters.

GFG, through its subsidiary Liberty Steel, took over the Galati steel mill in Romania from ArcelorMittal under a global deal.

Part of the funds will be used to install electric furnaces, which can reduce emissions by about 60%.

Besides the money earmarked for Galati, GFG will invest EUR 750 mln in its factory in Ostrava (Czech Republic), and the remaining EUR 250 mln will be allocated to other European operations.

"The more flexible electric-powered rolling mills, which require less than half the workforce, will not replace coal-fired furnaces, so there is no danger of firing people. In the short term, the two technologies will work together, so we will not have to start negotiations with the employees," Neil Barrell, Global Operations Manager at GFG, told Reuters.

He added that as a result of the investment in Galati, the production will increase to four million tonnes per year.

GFG did not release the current output, but reported that the plant’s current production capacity is 3.6 million tonnes.

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