APP cited Mr Saleem H Mandviwalla chairman Board of Investment of Pakistan as saying that South Korea's POSCO would invest USD 200 million to expand the production capacity of Tuwairqi Steel Plant in Port Qasim of Karachi.

He stated this after a meeting with a delegation of POSCO Limited of South Korea headed by Mr Baek SVP of POSCO who called on Mr Saleem H Mandviwalla on Friday.

He informed that an MOU of JV between POSCO and Tuwarqai will be signed by next month in the presence of government of Sindh.

The JV of the companies to producing steel products for automobiles and construction goods is set to be completed in 2015 with an annual production capacity of 2 million tonnes.

He said that The POSCO in Pakistan will be a great success not only in monetary terms but its position as a technology leader in the steel sector from which Pakistan can benefit to a larger extent. The gap between demand and supply is met through imports and the demand for steel products is around 8 million tonnes against the supply of around 2 million tones.

Mr Baek affirmed that the construction unit POSCO Engineering & Construction will build the plant with the side aim of winning other such plant deals in Pakistan.

POSCO has its presence in a number of countries such as China, India, Myanmar, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, USA, Australia, Canada and Vietnam. Both POSCO and Al Tuwairqi Holding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are in the steel business.

(Sourced from Associated Press of Pakistan)