Abu Dhabi: UAE manufacturer Shadeed Iron and Steel, a subsidiary of the Al Gaith group, signed an MoU yesterday with India's Jindal Saw International to set up a one million tonne per annum seamless tube plant in Oman's Sohar Industrial Port.
Ali Al Gaith, chairman of Shadeed Iron and Steel, said in a press conference yesterday that more than 38 per cent of the main Shadeed plant at Sohar has been completed, and commercial production will start by the third quarter of 2008.
Al Gaith told Gulf News that a consortium of foreign, local and regional banks will finance the $4 billion for the mega project.
He gave no details about the loans that will be granted to the project.
Prithvi Jindal, Vice-Chairman of Jindal Saw International, told Gulf News that the new plant is targeting more than 50 per cent of the region's market of seamless tubes.
"We are investing over $1 billion in the first phase of this project, aiming to acquire half of the Middle East market."
He said that demand is increasing sharply because of large-scale expansion projects in the oil and gas industry.
Jindal said his company has no plans to acquire shares in existing plants in the region, but it may cooperate with other partners like Shadeed.
Strong demand
Jindal said that his company was always looking to establish joint ventures with local companies.
He added that Jindal selected Shadeed because of its prime location and its advanced technology that will give the plant a competitive edge when it is commissioned.
Gaith Hamil Al Gaith, vice-chairman of Shadeed, said that the MoU will support the plans of Shadeed bearing in mind that it will be the first seamless tube plant in the region.
By Mohammad Ezz Al Deen
© Gulf News 2007
