Buoyed by the pick up in demand from the construction sector and exports, the steel sector staged a strong recovery with a growth rate of 4.7 per cent, the Economic Survey said on Thursday.

Noting that the sector had suffered slow output growth due to a combination of weak domestic demand growth and competition from imports, the Survey, which was tabled in Parliament said the picture had now changed.

"This growth momentum was maintained during April-November, 2002 when output grew by 5.4 per cent, as compared with negative 1.5 per cent in the same period previous year," it said.

The Survey highlighted that the change in scenario was mainly attributed to the rise in global steel prices from January 2002 onwards and domestic demand.

"Domestic steel demand rose, partly due to the highway construction undertaken under the aegis of the National Highway Authority of India and it is estimated that the National Highway Development Project alone led to a demand of one million tonne of steel," it said.

Domestic exports also witnessed an upsurge and registered a growth of 15.8 per cent in April-November, 2002, over the same period last year.

PTI