NEW DELHI: Rishi Sunak-led UK government to provide a support of $621 million (500 million pounds) to Tata Steel on a proposal to invest in electric arc furnace steel making in South Wales with a capital cost of £1.25 billion inclusive of the grant. The remaining 750 million pounds will be invested by Tata Group.
The project, according to Tata Steel, would bolster UK’s steel security and would be the first major step towards decarbonisation of the industry, reducing emissions by 50 million tonnes over a decade.
The British government has described this as one of the largest government support packages in history that would help safeguard 5,000 jobs. “The UK government is backing our steel sector, and this proposal will secure a sustainable future for Welsh steel and is expected to save thousands of jobs in the long term,” said Britain’s trade minister Kemi Badenoch.
Tata Steel had earlier said without government help it could close its sites and British business. Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran said: “The agreement with the UK Government is a defining moment for the future of the Steel Industry and indeed the industrial value chain in the UK…The proposed investment will preserve significant employment and presents a great opportunity for the development of a green technology-based industrial ecosystem in South Wales.”