National Steel Complex Limited Karachi Steel Plant

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National Steel Complex Limited Karachi Steel Plant (حديد الطويرقي), also known as Tuwairqi Steel Mills Ltd (TSML) (formerly), is a steel plant in Karachi, Bin Qasim, Sindh, Pakistan that operates direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Karachi, Bin Qasim, Sindh, Pakistan:

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• Location: Bin Qasim, Karachi
• Coordinates (WGS 84): 24.789621, 67.353238 (exact)

Background

The plant operates a 38MW combined cycle power (CPP) plant with four 6.5MW gas turbines. The steel plant was a joint venture between Al Tuwairqi Holding of Saudi Arabia and POSCO of South Korea. The plant has the capacity to produce 1.28 mtpa of DRI. Phase-I of the DRI plant was completed at a cost of $340 million while fate of phase-II and phase-III were contingent on the commercial success of the DRI plant. The plant was inaugurated in January 2013, but was idled in September 2013 owing to gas tariff issues and the government of Pakistan not granting a concessionary gas tariff. In between the plant had produced and sold 60,300 tons of DRI mostly in the domestic market, but sustained an operational loss of $18.6 million in 2013. All through the past 10 years, a small core team led by Zaigham Adil Rizvi managed preventive maintenance/cold commissioning as per standard operating procedures to keep the plant in fit-to-run condition.

A US-based Ciena Group acquired the plant in April 2022, renaming it National Steel Complex Limited (NSCL). The possibility of using hydrogen or coal-based syngas is being explored to restart the plant. In September 2023, Ciena Group has commenced backward integration by securing iron ore mining leasing rights in Pakistan. NSCL’s subsidiary, Alhadeed Paletisation Company, has entered sub-lease agreements with multiple private leaseholders in iron ore-rich areas in Balochistan, specifically Mashkichah in Nokundi district. These sites collectively cover about 6000 acres. The company has outlined a strategy for mechanised mining and dry beneficiation at the mining sites. dditionally, they have planned to establish a wet beneficiation and palletisation plant on NSCL-owned land in Port Qasim. In June 2024, a US envoy visited the plant reiterating the US government’s unwavering support for revival of the industrial sector of Pakistan especially in the steel sector.

As of January 2025, the plant has not commenced operations.

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Announced date	Construction date	Start date	Idled date	Power source	Iron ore source
2006-06-13	2011	2013-01	2013-09	38MW combined cycle power (CCP) plant	Mashkichah, Nokundi

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Parent company	Parent company PermID	Parent company GEM ID	Owner	Owner company PermID	Owner company GEM ID
Al Tuwairqi Holding Co	5000072213	E100000130931	National Steel Complex Ltd	5035932965	E100000130977

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category	Steel products	Main production equipment
semi-finished	cold DRI, hot DRI, HBI	DRI; EAF

Table 4: Plant-level Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

¹Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status1	Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity	Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
announced	1280	1280

Table 5: Plant-level Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

¹Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status1	Sponge iron/DRI capacity	Nominal iron capacity (total)
mothballed	1280	1280

Table 6: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Sinter	Pellets
NF	NF

Unit Details

Table 7: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Start date	Furnace manufacturer and model	Furnace type	Current capacity (ttpa)	Reductant
unknown DRI (1)	mothballed	2013	Midrex	shaft furnace	1280	methane

Table 8: Electric Arc Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Current capacity (ttpa)
unknown EAF (1)	announced	1280

Table 9: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details

Unit name	Scrap-based	% scrap	% DRI	% HBI	% sponge iron (unknown if DRI or HBI)	% basic/merchant pig iron	% granulated pig iron	% pig iron (unknown if basic/merchant or granulated	% other iron
unknown EAF (1)	None	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

Resources

• Company website
• Wikipedia