Tuwairqi Steel Mills
A Pakistani steel manufacturer that developed and briefly operated a large direct-reduced-iron plant at Bin Qasim before being acquired and renamed National Steel Complex Limited.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited (TSML) was a Pakistani steel manufacturing company established as a foreign direct investment project of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Tuwairqi Holding. Its principal asset was a direct reduced iron (DRI) complex at Bin Qasim in Karachi, developed with South Korean steelmaker POSCO as a strategic partner. The project was intended to strengthen Pakistan’s domestic steelmaking capacity by producing DRI, an iron feedstock that can be used in electric-arc-furnace steel production. The project originated in an agreement with the Government of Pakistan in 2004. The government undertook to provide a level playing field for the supply of natural gas, which was important because the Midrex-based DRI process uses natural gas both as fuel and as a reducing agent. The project was subsequently designated as an Export Processing Zone unit, and construction began in 2006. Its Bin Qasim site covered approximately 220 acres and included the DRI plant, supporting infrastructure, and a captive power facility. The first phase was completed and inaugurated in January 2013. The plant had a designed DRI production capacity of approximately 1.28 million tonnes per year and used technology associated with Kobe Steel’s Midrex process. Its operating life was short, however. In September 2013, TSML suspended production after a dispute with the Pakistani authorities over the availability and price of subsidised natural gas. The company argued that the project depended on the assurances made during its formation and sought a concessionary gas tariff. The government rejected the requested arrangement, maintaining that it would constitute a substantial subsidy. TSML proposed transferring part of its shareholding to the government in return for a guaranteed gas supply, but the proposal did not resolve the dispute. The shutdown resulted in the plant being mothballed and a substantial reduction in the workforce. A small technical team reportedly continued maintenance and cold-commissioning work to preserve the facility’s ability to restart. The dispute also developed into an international investment arbitration case. In 2018, Hilal Hussain Al-Tuwairqi and Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Company brought proceedings against Pakistan before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, alleging that sovereign assurances relating to gas supply had not been honoured. The tribunal dismissed the claims in December 2023 and ordered the claimants to pay specified administrative and legal costs. TSML’s ownership position changed during this period. POSCO acquired a minority equity interest in 2011, while a sale process involving the United States-based Ciena Group began with a term sheet in 2019. Ciena completed the transfer of management rights in 2022 and settled an outstanding loan owed to a consortium led by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. In 2023, Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee gave in-principle approval for the company to be renamed National Steel Complex Limited. Under the new ownership, the business also pursued iron-ore mining sub-leases in Balochistan through Alhadeed Pelletisation Company. The Tuwairqi Steel Mills name therefore represents the original operating company and project identity; the corporate successor is associated with National Steel Complex Limited.
History
Tuwairqi Steel Mills was conceived as a Saudi-backed foreign investment in Pakistan’s steel sector. Al-Tuwairqi Holding developed the project with POSCO of South Korea, with Hilal Hussain Al-Tuwairqi identified as a leading sponsor. In May 2004, the project company and the Government of Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding addressing the supply of natural gas. The arrangement was central to the project’s economics because the planned DRI process required gas as both an energy source and a chemical reducing agent. The Pakistani government notified the project as an Export Processing Zone unit in October 2005. Groundbreaking followed in 2006 at Bin Qasim, Karachi. The planned complex occupied about 220 acres and was intended to become one of Pakistan’s largest private-sector integrated steel projects. Its first phase consisted of a DRI plant using technology based on the Midrex process developed by Kobe Steel. The site also included a captive combined-cycle power plant with four gas turbines and total stated capacity of approximately 38 megawatts. Financing included a syndicated package involving the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector and the OPEC Fund for International Development. POSCO took a minority equity position in September 2011. The first phase was inaugurated in January 2013, but the project soon encountered a fundamental commercial and regulatory problem. TSML sought a concessionary natural-gas tariff and dependable supply on the basis of the commitments it believed had supported the original investment decision. The Pakistani government declined the requested terms, arguing that they would effectively create a major public subsidy. The company offered to transfer a portion of its shares to the government in exchange for guaranteed gas access, but no settlement was reached. Operations were suspended in September 2013. During its short operating period, the plant produced a limited quantity of DRI for the domestic market, but the business incurred significant operating losses. By 2014, the facility had been mothballed and approximately one thousand workers had reportedly been laid off. A small core team remained involved in maintenance and cold-commissioning activities intended to keep the plant in a condition suitable for a possible restart. The gas dispute later became an international investment case. In February 2018, Hilal Hussain Al-Tuwairqi and Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Company commenced arbitration against Pakistan before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. They invoked an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation investment agreement and argued that Pakistan had failed to honour sovereign assurances concerning gas supply. In December 2023, the tribunal rejected all claims and ordered the claimants to pay the specified administrative and legal costs. Ownership and corporate control changed alongside the unresolved operating situation. A term sheet for a sale to the United States-based Ciena Group was signed in October 2019. Ciena completed the transfer of management rights in April 2022 and settled an outstanding loan owed to a consortium led by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. In October 2023, Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee approved in principle the proposed renaming of Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited as National Steel Complex Limited. Under the new ownership, the successor business also pursued iron-ore mining sub-leases in Balochistan near Mashkichah in the Nokundi region through Alhadeed Pelletisation Company. The original Tuwairqi Steel Mills identity is consequently associated with a defunct or renamed corporate entity rather than an active standalone brand.
- 2023
Proposed renaming to National Steel Complex
[1]Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee gave in-principle approval for the corporate name change.
- 2022
Ciena Group takes management control
[1]Ciena Group completed the transfer of management rights after the earlier sale agreement.
- 2018
Investment arbitration initiated
[1]Project sponsors brought an investment arbitration case against Pakistan over alleged failures relating to gas-supply assurances.
- 2013
First-phase plant inaugurated
[1]The Bin Qasim DRI plant was inaugurated, beginning the project’s planned operating phase.
- 2013
Operations suspended
[1]Production stopped after the company and government failed to resolve the natural-gas tariff and supply dispute.
- 2011
POSCO acquires minority stake
[1]POSCO acquired a minority equity interest in the company.
- 2006
Groundbreaking at Bin Qasim
[1]Construction began on the DRI complex and associated infrastructure in Karachi.
- 2005
Designation as an Export Processing Zone unit
[1]The Pakistani government notified the project as a unit of the Export Processing Zone.
- 2004
Memorandum of understanding with Pakistan
[1]TSML and the Government of Pakistan signed an agreement concerning the project’s investment framework and natural-gas supply conditions.
Products and positioning
A large-scale, vertically oriented Pakistani ironmaking project designed to supply domestic steel producers with direct reduced iron and reduce reliance on imported steelmaking inputs.
Ironmaking material · 2013
Direct reduced iron
The company’s principal intended product was direct reduced iron, a solid ironmaking material produced by reducing iron ore without melting it in a blast furnace. TSML designed its Bin Qasim facility to manufacture DRI for Pakistan’s domestic steel industry, where it could serve as feedstock for downstream electric-arc-furnace steelmaking. The plant used technology based on the Midrex process and was designed for large-scale annual output, although commercial operations were suspended soon after inauguration.
Brand decisions
2023
Pursue an integrated mining and steelmaking directionStrategyBackground
Following the change in management, the successor business sought to develop access to domestic iron-ore resources.
Action taken
Through Alhadeed Pelletisation Company, the business began securing iron-ore mining sub-leases in Balochistan near Mashkichah in the Nokundi region.
Aftermath
The move indicated an effort to connect raw-material resources with the former TSML steelmaking complex under its new corporate identity.
2019
Agree sale to Ciena GroupM&ABackground
The company’s plant had been mothballed for several years following the gas-supply dispute.
Action taken
TSML entered into a term sheet for sale to the United States-based Ciena Group.
Aftermath
Management rights were transferred to Ciena in 2022, and the corporate successor was later proposed for renaming as National Steel Complex Limited.
2013
Suspend production over natural-gas termsStrategyBackground
The DRI plant depended on natural gas for its production process, while the company maintained that the project had been developed on the basis of government assurances concerning gas availability and pricing.
Action taken
TSML suspended operations after the government rejected its requested concessionary tariff and did not accept the company’s proposal to transfer part of its shares in exchange for guaranteed supply.
Aftermath
The plant was later mothballed, the workforce was reduced, and the dispute ultimately contributed to international investment arbitration.
Operating loss during the brief operating period. US$18.6 million loss (2013)
Recent events
- 2023
Pakistan approves proposed renaming as National Steel Complex[1]
Other
The Economic Coordination Committee gave in-principle approval for Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited to be renamed National Steel Complex Limited.
- 2023
Arbitration tribunal dismisses claims against Pakistan[1]
Lawsuit · Regulation
The Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal dismissed the investment claims brought by the project sponsors and ordered them to pay administrative and legal costs.
- 2022
Ciena Group completes management-rights transfer[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Ciena Group completed the transfer of management rights and settled the company’s outstanding project financing obligation to a lender consortium.
- 2019
Ciena Group signs term sheet to acquire TSML[1]
M&A
A term sheet was signed for the sale of Tuwairqi Steel Mills to the United States-based Ciena Group.
- 2018
Investment arbitration filed against Pakistan[1]
Lawsuit · Regulation
Hilal Hussain Al-Tuwairqi and Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Company initiated proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, alleging breaches of investment assurances concerning gas supply.
- 2014
Tuwairqi Steel Mills plant mothballed[1]
Other
Following the continuing gas dispute, the facility was mothballed and the workforce was significantly reduced, while a smaller team maintained the site.
- 2013
Tuwairqi Steel Mills plant inaugurated at Bin Qasim[1]
Product launch
The company inaugurated its direct reduced iron plant in Karachi, marking the planned start of commercial operations for the first phase of the project.
- 2013
TSML suspends operations amid natural-gas supply dispute[1]
Regulation · Other
Production was suspended after the company and the Pakistani government failed to agree on the terms and price of natural-gas supply required for the DRI process.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/tuwairqi-steel-mills · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled