(20 second reading) Tata Steel announced that the steelmaker will proceed with its £1.25-billion investment to build an electric arc furnace in Port Talbot, replacing two blast furnaces and commence closure of the existing heavy end assets in the following months.
Tata Steel said it has informed the trade unions that Port Talbot’s two Blast Furnaces No.5 and No.4 will close by the end of June, and by the end of September, respectively. This is in contrary to the union’s plan which would have kept a blast furnace in operation while building an electric arc furnace.
Tata Steel pointed out that the alternative plan presented by the union would involve additional costs of at least £1.6 billion