Russia floats two options for PSM’s revival

The Russian government has proposed two options for the revival of the ailing Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM): one blast furnace model will cost USD 1.91 billion and the other is based on Electric arc furnace (EAF) technology that will cost USD 1.05 billion. During the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on industries and production, Haroon Akhtar Khan’s official visit to Moscow in July, Pakistan signed an agreement with Russia to revive and expand the Pakistan Steel Mills project in Karachi, which was originally built in 1973 with Soviet assistance. According to officials privy to the developments, Russian authorities have forwarded the proposals to the Ministry of Industries and Production on the subject, saying that revival of the current mill on blast furnace model will one-time cost of USD 1.91 billion, while constructing a new mill based on Electric arc furnace (EAF) technology will cost USD 1 billion for which scrap will be imported.