Tata Steel is committed to blast furnace closure at Port Talbot

Tata Steel calls for the incoming UK Government to honour the ring-fenced £500mln for an electric arc furnace at Port Talbot.

In a company statement, Tata Steel declares apprehension over UK media reports that suggest the £1.25bln investment may be in peril from an incoming government.

It calls the current and future government to adhere to and safeguard the agreed £500mln package of support for the electric arc furnace (EAF) project.

The steelmaker says this will ensure low-emissions, high-quality steel in Port Talbort, preserving primary steelmaking in Britain.

Tata Steel will continue with Port Talbot's announced closure of heavy-end assets and restructuring programme.

The current heavy-end assets at Port Talbort are nearing end-of-life, are operationally unstable and have unsustainable financial losses, says Tata Steel.

The coke ovens were closed in March 2024 as operations became unfeasible and unsafe.

The company says it is therefore compelled to continue decomissioning Blast Furnace #5 at the end of June, followed by Blast Furnace #4 by the end of September.

The downstream assets are planned to continue to service customers by using imported, semi-finished steel until the EAF is commissioned.

In April this year, Tata Steel finished a seven-month consultation at national-level on all options with Unions and concluded the multi-union plan of continuing Blast Furnace #4 is no technically, operationally or financially viable.

The company says a generous voluntary redundancy programme has been developed for the impacted employees.