POSCO is embarking on a significant expansion of its global steel business by commencing the construction of an integrated steel mill in India, a high-growth market with a population of 1.46 billion.
The integrated steel mill is a steel plant equipped with the full range of processes, including ironmaking (producing molten iron), steelmaking (removing impurities), and rolling (producing finished steel products).
On April 20, POSCO signed a joint venture agreement with JSW Steel, India’s leading steelmaker, to build an integrated steel mill in India.
The collaboration, built on a strong partnership between the two companies, aims to target high-profit markets within India and further strengthen the global steel supply chain.
The signing ceremony was attended by top executives from both groups, including Chang In-hwa CEO of POSCO HOLDINGS, Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Group, Lee Hee-geun, President of POSCO, and Jayant Acharya, CEO of JSW Steel.
Following a direct meeting and memorandum of understanding between CEO Chang In-hwa and Chairman Sajjan Jindal in October 2024, the two companies solidified their cooperation through a HOA in July 2025.
With this final contract, the joint venture now enters the full-scale construction and execution phase.
The joint venture is structured as an equal partnership, with each company holding a 50 percent stake.
The new integrated steel mill will be blast-furnace-based, featuring a complete production system — from ironmaking, steelmaking, and hot rolling to cold rolling/galvanizing — capable of producing high-value-added premium steel.
The facility will have an integrated production capacity of 6 million tons of crude steel.
A site has been secured in Odisha, offering proximity to iron ore mines and efficient access to logistics, power, and infrastructure.
The project aims for completion by 2031, following a 48-month construction period after groundbreaking.
Both companies are reviewing plans to combine POSCO’s low-carbon operational technology and Smart Factory capabilities with JSW’s renewable energy infrastructure to supply a portion of the plant’s power with renewable energy.
Through this, they intend to establish a low-carbon production system that aligns with the “Green Steel Taxonomy” established by the Indian government in December 2024, the first of its kind in the world.
President Lee stated, “Through this joint venture, we will combine POSCO’s innovative steelmaking technology with JSW Group’s strong local competitiveness. We are committed to creating future value and making a substantial contribution to the industrial development and economic growth of both nations.”
CEO Jayant Acharya commented, “This partnership with POSCO will serve as an opportunity to unite the vision and determination of both companies. We expect this to be a significant step in strengthening the Indian steel ecosystem and solidifying the national industrial value chain.”
The Indian steel mill construction project, a long-held ambition for POSCO, has finally come to fruition as its “complete localization strategy” achieved tangible results following the inauguration of CEO Chang.
Since 2004, POSCO has explored entering the upstream sector in India on four separate occasions but faced challenges such as finding the right joint venture partner and securing land.
However, the company successfully carried out downstream investments, including electrical steel and automotive steel sheet plants, and has accumulated extensive business experience in India by strengthening its partnership with the JSW Group, which owns India’s leading steelmaker.
A representative example of this robust partnership occurred in 2022 when the Pohang Steelworks was flooded due to Typhoon Hinnamnor.
At that time, JSW Group readily provided POSCO with equipment originally being manufactured for its own hot rolling mill, significantly accelerating the recovery of POSCO’s No. 2 Hot Rolling Mill.
Driven by GDP growth, urbanization, population increases, and manufacturing expansion, India is a high-growth market where steel consumption has grown by over 10% annually in recent years.
In particular, demand for high-value-added steel is expected to rise as the premium market for automotive and home appliances expands due to increasing incomes and a shift toward premium consumption patterns.
POSCO Group plans to directly overcome the crisis of global protectionism through the complete localization strategy, which includes building the integrated steel mill in India, investing in the steel plant in Louisiana, U.S., and collaborating with Cleveland-Cliffs.
Meanwhile, in Korea, the company is focusing on high-value-added products, transitioning to intelligent factories through the integration of AI and robotics, and developing Korean-style hydrogen reduction steelmaking to secure future growth drivers.
Notably, as CEO Chang mentioned in his 2026 New Year’s address, this investment is highly significant as it establishes a crucial bridgehead for a virtuous cycle: utilizing profits generated in global markets to fund decarbonization transition investments back in Korea.
_포스코 JSW스틸.png)
