Steel tycoon ready to open talks on Port Talbot rescue plan

Credit: ITV News

Steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has said that he is ready to open talks with the government on a rescue plan for Port Talbot safeguarding thousands of jobs.

The founder of commodities firm Liberty House, that has already saved a number of plants from closure, said he was in the process of opening discussions with the plants owners, Tata Steel.

Mr Gupta, who is due to fly to Britain on Monday, said he could not afford to buy the entire UK operation, but said that there is a prospect that Port Talbot in South Wales could be saved.

But he told the Sunday Telegraph that any deal would require a "proper partnership" with the government if it was to succeed.

To save Port Talbot, there would need to be a 'proper partnership' with the government, Mr Gupta said. Credit: PA

Mr Gupta's preliminary proposals are to replace Port Talbot's traditional blast furnaces with modern electric arc furnaces and melting and recycling scrap rather than producing raw materials.

Last October, as Tata Steel made cuts to its Llanwern plant, the entrepreneur called on the UK government for consistent, affordable energy policy.

Tata has said that it intends to sell off its loss-making UK assets, leaving ministers scrambling to find a buyer or face the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.