Oman’s Vulcan Green Steel parent company to acquire Czech firm

MUSCAT, OCT 14

Vitkovice Steel, a leading steel mill in the Czech Republic, has announced that it is currently in the process of being acquired by Indian conglomerate Jindal Steel Group – a move that bodes well for the latter’s wholly-owned Vulcan Green Steel project, currently under construction at Duqm in the Sultanate of Oman.

The Czech company’s CEO, Radek Strouhal, was quoted by local media as saying that Jindal Steel has pledged to invest around 150 million euros ($164 million) in the steel mill as part of the 100 per cent stake acquisition.

“This is a strategic step and we are convinced that it will strengthen the company and the Czech steel industry. The new industrial owner will bring the company stability and above all development in the form of massive investments in modernisation and expansion of production technologies, sharing of foreign know-how and moving towards environmentally produced low-emission steel,” said Strouhal.

Earlier this year, Vitkovice Steel signed a binding agreement to procure around 1 million tonnes per annum of low-carbon steel from Vulcan Green Steel’s Duqm project when it comes into operation in 2027.

Vulcan Green Steel, a subsidiary of Jindal Steel Group, is currently constructing a 5 million tonnes per annum capacity steel mill at the Duqm SEZ, powered primarily by green hydrogen and other renewable energy sources. Total investment in the Duqm venture is about $3 billion.

Vitkovice Steel said at the time that the deal would position the Czech steelmaker among the first European producers of low-carbon steel products. The low-carbon steel from Vulcan, it noted, would enable the production and supply of market quality sheets, sheet plates and billets to the European market.

Jindal Group’s planned investment in Vitkovice Steel will support the latter’s plans to expand its plate production capacity and output of higher added-value products, it said.

A leading European manufacturer of heavy steel slabs, Vitkovice’s steel products are used in a wide range of industries, including construction, energy, transportation, and engineering.