Sanjeev Gupta is the British bloke who was dubbed Australia's 'saviour of steel'. Instead, he's left a massive mess that costing us billions to fix Sanjeev Gupta promised investment for Whyalla Mr Gupta has left the key steelworks mired in debt He still owns Sydney property worth $44million READ MORE: Huge steelworks in South Australia on the verge of collapse By HARRISON CHRISTIAN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 22:24 GMT, 22 February 2025 | Updated: 22:26 GMT, 22 February 2025 e-mail View comments British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta was dubbed the 'saviour of steel' when he swooped in to buy the struggling Whyalla steelworks. Now his vision has proved a pipe dream and the South Australian government has forced the plant into administration in a bid to recover the millions of dollars it is owed.
Gupta has left behind a trail of debts, angry workers and disillusioned politicians. But he once seemed a godsend for the state's Labor government, which hoped to keep the steelworks running while also reducing its emissions. In 2017 Gupta took over the key South Australia plant - the country's only producer of steel beams for construction and rails - after the previous owner went into administration.
He promised to invest up to $1.5billion in the plant and make it carbon neutral by producing 'green' steel - a model he was also trying to introduce at his other steel operations around the world. The transformation at Whyalla would involve replacing coal with hydrogen in the manufact.
