Indian steelmaker Essar Steel has announced that it will shift its focus to produce value-added niche steel products at its Hazira facility where it has so far invested about INR 370 billion ($5.9 billion).
Essar Steel said that it will gradually shift its focus to utilize 70 percent of its 10 million mt Hazira plant's capacity to manufacture special steel for defense-related requirements in the next three to five years.
Essar Steel has also developed ultra-strength steel, known as quenched and tempered special alloy plates for battle tanks and other applications.
India currently imports more than 100,000 mt of steel annually to meet various defense-related requirements.