Pakistan and Russia agree to build new steel mills in Karachi

Russia and Pakistan have agreed to build new steel mills in Karachi. This decision came after a meeting in Islamabad between Haroon Akhtar Khan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries, and a Russian delegation led by Denis Nazarov.

Russia confirmed its interest in the project and also invited Pakistan to join an upcoming industrial exhibition in Moscow. This idea was first discussed in September 2024 when Russia’s Deputy Industry Minister met with Pakistan’s former Industries Minister. Both sides had agreed back then to create a working group to plan the project.

In the latest meeting, both countries went into more detail and agreed to form a joint team to start and run the steel mill project.

Haroon Akhtar said the Prime Minister is keen to bring foreign investment into Pakistan and that the country is a good, safe place for international businesses.

He encouraged Russian companies to invest and said the new steel plant would benefit both countries.

Pakistan has already reserved 700 acres of land within the Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi for this new project. Although Pakistan has plenty of iron ore (around 1.8 billion tons), it still imports $2.7 billion worth of iron and steel every year due to a gap in local supply, which was around 3.1 million tons last year.

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