The Hindu Business Line : JSL completes foundation work for ferro-chrome unit

JINDAL Stainless Ltd (JSL) has completed the foundation work for its ferro-chrome furnace at Duburi in Orissa in October and the company expects to operationalise its ferro-chrome facility by the end of the current financial year.

"This would be the first phase of the project comprising of construction and installation of smelting furnaces for the production of 1,50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of ferro-chrome. We expect it to become functional by March next year," said Mr Arvind Parakh, Finance Director of the company.

The whole project is moving ahead as per schedule and the next phase would be setting up the manganese-based facilities for producing 40,000 tpa of ferro-manganese and 60,000 tpa of silico-manganese, a coke oven battery capable of producing 300,000 tpa of coke and a 38 mega watt of power through waste heat recovery, he said.

Mr Parakh said that the ferro-manganese and silico-manganese facilities are expected to be completed by June next year and the entire project is expected to go on-stream by May 2006.

He said that arrangements for water and power were already in place as the company has already signed agreements for supply of water and power with the concerned Government agencies.

JSL is putting up a greenfield integrated plant at Orissa with an estimated cost of Rs 950 crore proposed to be funded through a combination of debt and internal accruals. The debt portion will account for Rs 635 crore, which will be raised through a combination of domestic and foreign loans.