ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: MMK Steel, Russia’s largest steel producers, is interested in purchasing Pakistan Steel with the aim to upgrade and modernize the existing plant’s position, capacity and environment, company’s deputy-director general Rafaat S. Pakhaupinov has said.

The MMK group also wanted to invest in Pakistan’s steel sector, he expressed this in a meeting between Industries and Production Minister Jehangir Khan Tareen and a ten-member Russian delegation representing MMK Steel here on Wednesday.

The minister informed the delegation that there existed tremendous opportunities for investing in Pakistan’s steel sector because of rapid demand for steel products.

Mr Tareen said the government was encouraging foreign investment in the steel manufacturing sector to meet the present and future demand for steel and engineering industries.

“There is a need to establish more steel mills to meet the ever widening gap between demand and supply and for this purpose the private sector and foreign entrepreneurs and businessmen are being encouraged,” the minister added.

Industries and Production Secretary Suleman Ghani acknowledged the importance of the steel sector in industrial development of the country and said that to encourage the private sector the government had decided to privatize Pakistan Steel.