Thaindian News

Kolkata, Sep 10 (IANS) State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is injecting Rs.20,000 crore for modernisation and expansion of three of its units in West Bengal.

SAIL chairman C.S. Verma, who met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday to discuss the plans, said the projects in West Bengal were progressing as per schedule and it was looking forward to more participation in the state.

The three SAIL units in the state are the IISCO Steel Plant, Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) and Alloy Steel Plant, all in Burdwan’s Durgapur.

“IISCO’s modernisation with investments of about Rs.16,000 crore with latest state of the art technology is in an advanced stage of implementation. The facilities envisaged at the plant are scheduled for commissioning progressively from December 2011 and are to be completed by June 2012,” said Verma.

He also informed that modernisation of DSP at a cost of about Rs.3,000 crore will increase finished steel production by over 64 percent and enable 100 percent production through the modern continuous casting process that will further increase profitability and ensure better quality product.

SAIL has undertaken a massive expansion drive to increase its steel production capacity to 21.40 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) at an investment of Rs.61,870 crore which is expected to be completed by 2012-2013.

IISCO Steel Plant (ISP), an integrated steel plant in Burnpur, has the capacity to produce 4.26 lakh tonnes of saleable steel and 2.54 lakh tonnes of pig iron annually.

ISP, the erstwhile Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO), which was a 100 percent subsidiary of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been amalgamated with the parent company with effect from Feb 16, 2006.

About its 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Kobe Steel of Japan for setting up a 0.5 million tonne nugget plant near Alloy Steel Plant, Durgapur, Verma said the pre-feasibility report has been completed. “Discussions to finalise the scheme and enter agreement are in progress,” he said.

He also informed that the wagon making factory at Kulti will come up at a capital investment of Rs.200 crore.

RITES, the public sector undertaking of railways ministry, signed a JV agreement with SAIL for setting up the wagon manufacturing factory at Kulti near Asansol in Burdwan.

The factory is planned to be equipped to handle 1,500 wagons per annum - manufacture 1,200 wagons and repair 300.

The project cost is envisaged to be around Rs.85 crore in the first phase, and go up to Rs.120 crore in the second phase.