The Hindu Business Line : Vizag Steel, SAIL, NMDC talks on steel venture soon

Kolkata April 10 A meeting of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is slated to be held in Vizag soon to discuss the setting up of a proposed steel plant in joint venture between RINL, SAIL and NMDC, according to Mr Y.S. Siva Sagar Rao, Chairman & Managing Director of Vizag Steel Plant.

Addressing a news conference held here today in connection with RINL's performance in 2006-07, Mr Rao said it had been proposed to set up a steel plant in joint venture with NMDC. While the proposal had been cleared by the board of directors of RINL and NMDC, finer details pertaining to the proposed project would be discussed at a scheduled meeting in Vizag within the next 10 days.

The Chairman of SAIL, Mr S.K. Roongta, will be present at the meeting.

According to him, the proposed plant was "most likely" to be set up in Chhattisgarh, where NMDC has its own iron ore mines. The capacity of the proposed plant, and the product mix that it would have, were matters that would be finalised at a later date, Mr Rao said.

In the year 2006-07, RINL recorded best-ever sales of Rs 9,126 crore, an increase of eight per cent over the previous year. The profit before tax at Rs 2,246 crore in 2006-07 marked an increase of 19 per cent over 2005-06.

Mr Rao said RINL would augment its capacity to 16 million tonnes per annum by 2020. For the time being, augmentation of capacity up to 8.5 million tonnes by 2009-10 had been approved even as expansion contracts worth Rs 3,500 crore had been awarded.

Meanwhile, Vizag Steel Plant has been focussed on facilitating increased per capita consumption of steel in the rural areas.

The idea was to facilitate an increase in per capita consumption of steel in rural India from two kg to four kg by 2020. This was the only way to ensure sustained growth of the steel sector in the country. On its part, Vizag Steel Plant had designed bullock carts made of steel for deployment in rural areas on a trial basis. It has also developed cost-effective dwelling units made of steel. "To ensure inclusive growth in the country, steel has to be made available in the rural economy," Mr Rao said.

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