The announcement of a major Turkish export contract has had immediate, tangible effects at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, with 23 new jobs created and overnight manufacturing restarted for the first time in over a decade. The deal — an eight-figure agreement with ERG International Group — covers 36,000 tonnes of rail for Turkey’s ambitious new 599km high-speed railway linking Ankara and İzmir.
The revival of 24-hour production is particularly significant, as it had been more than ten years since the plant last operated continuously through the night. The Turkish order, which was supported by UK Export Finance, required a scale of output that justified ramping up to full capacity — a positive sign for both productivity and job security at the north Lincolnshire site.
The Ankara–İzmir railway is a flagship Turkish infrastructure project designed to shrink travel times between the country’s capital and its Aegean coast while reducing carbon emissions. British Steel’s involvement in supplying high-quality rail for such a project reinforces its credentials as a world-class manufacturer, even as its financial position at home remains fragile.
Industry body UK Steel welcomed the deal enthusiastically, calling it “essential to underpinning a sustainable turnaround.” But its director general also stressed that structural reforms — particularly around energy costs and import protections — are just as important as winning individual contracts if British Steel is to achieve genuine long-term stability.
The backdrop to this optimism, however, is a financial situation that remains deeply challenging. British Steel is losing £1.2 million per day under government control, and the total cost to the public purse since the emergency takeover has now surpassed £359 million. The deal with Turkey is good news, but it does not resolve the fundamental question of what comes next for the Scunthorpe site.