State owned Steel Authority of India Limited is likely to finalise within a month, a joint venture with Japan's Kobe Steel for a 0.5 million tonne mill in West Bengal to manufacture special grade steel.

Steel Minister Mr Beni Prasad Verma told PTI that "SAIL is finalising a joint venture with Kobe Steel and it is likely to be signed in a month's span. The total investment in the project will be USD 400 million (about INR 2,000 crore).”

Mr Verma said that after the initial 0.5 million tonne project, to be implemented at Alloy Steels Plant at Durgapur, its capacity will be doubled to 1 million tonne by adding another 0.5 million tonne module.

Mr Verma said both the companies are likely to have equal stake in the JV.

The JV will help SAIL acquire the Japanese company's patented technology, used for value added applications. The new unit will put into use Kobe Steel's iron-making technology to make nuggets

(Sourced from PTI)