Electrosteel Steel Ltd said lenders had, in principle, agreed to restructure its debt for ten years, including a moratorium of two-and-a-half years of principal and two years of interest payments.

According to the company, on June 24, the Corporate Debt Restructuring Cell (CDR Cell) admitted ESL’s request for restructuring.

The company could not achieve financial closure for the additional loan on time for the Rs 10,000 crore and 2.51 million tonne a year steel project near Bokaro, Jharkhand.

The company said that at the meeting most of the banks supported the company’s restructuring proposal.

Ashutosh Agarwal, Executive Director, said the lenders had, in principle, agreed on a reduced rate of interest and structured debt repayment.

The company requested for additional Rs 1,100 crore to complete the project and Rs 200 crore for working capital margin. Earlier, the company had applied for Rs 824 crore towards capital expenditure borrowing. However, full disbursements could not be made as certain banks took time to sanction their portion.

The company is seeking the “undisbursed” amount along with the current requirement, the ED explained in a statement. “Most of the lenders are supporting this requirement of the company”, he added.

jayanta.mallick@thehindu.co.in

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