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The Union Steel Minister, Mr Beni Prasad Verma, wants the Visakhapatnam steel plant to set up a slag cement plant and has directed the company to explore the possibility, inviting partners of international repute.
The Minister made the suggestion at a review meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, according to a press release issued here on Wednesday. Mr P.K Bishnoi, Chairman and Managing Director, and other directors and senior officials participated in the meet.
Mr Verma appreciated RINL for its good overall performance, as “RINL has been operating the plant continuously for the past several years over 100 per cent rated capacity utilisation with good techno-economic operating parameters”. The higher production of special steel, better customer satisfaction and faster implementation of expansion project were praised by the Minister. He also expressed happiness over RINL making profit for the past eight years, though it does not have captive iron ore and coal mines, placing it in a disadvantageous position compared with other steel majors in the country.
Mr Bishnoi, the Chairman and Managing Director, pointed out that RINL's profits would have been higher by over Rs. 1,500 crore a year, if the company had captive iron ore mines.
Mr P.K. Mishra, Secretary (Steel), said that phase-1 expansion of the plant to produce 6.3 million tonnes of liquid steel was progressing fast. He asked RINL to bring CDI technology quickly to offset part of coal cost.
The consultant for preparation of feasibility report for the next phase of expansion had already been engaged to take the capacity to 11 mt. In this phase, the company would be looking to expand its product range to include flat ones and certain special steels.
Mr Bishnoi and Mr Mishra underlined the need for the company to have captive iron ore mines. The company has already submitted several applications for allotment of iron ore mines in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The Steel Minister promised all help for early allotment of both iron ore and coal mines to RINL.
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