An Indian joint venture of ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) and Nippon Steel (5401.T) will invest 410 billion rupees ($5 billion) to boost crude steel output capacity by 6 million tones a year at its Hazira plant, the Japanese firm said on Wednesday.

Their joint venture, AM/NS India, will build two blast furnaces, along with other facilities, in its Hazira plant in western India, with plans to start operations by early 2026.

The expansion is aimed at meeting growing steel demand in India and winning a bigger slice of the market.

The annual steel output capacity of the Hazira plant will increase to around 15 million tonnes after the expansion.

Takahiro Mori, executive vice president at Nippon Steel, told Reuters recently that it plans to almost double crude steel output capacity at the Hazira plant to secure more of the growing market.