Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a government initiative established in 2023 to act as a single-window platform for attracting and facilitating domestic and foreign investment, has stepped in to support the revival of the National Steel Complex project, formerly known as Tuwairqi Steel Mills, according to local media reports.
The project, originally developed by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Tuwairqi Group with South Korea’s POSCO, was commissioned in 2013 as a MIDREX-based direct reduced iron (DRI) plant with annual production capacity of around 1.28 mln tons. Operations were suspended in 2014 following disputes over gas pricing and supply terms.
According to reports, the SIFC repeatedly directed relevant authorities to facilitate gas supply for the project, including the creation of a separate tariff category and execution of a long-term gas supply agreement with Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).
The council also pushed for the issuance of a bankable gas supply commitment for up to 45 mln cubic feet per day at the notified industrial tariff for an initial 10-year period, extendable by another 10 years.
In 2022, U.S.-based Ciena Group acquired management control of the company, which was subsequently renamed National Steel Complex Ltd.