The Hindu : Business : Stage set for revival of ailing SCL

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Saturday, Sep 22, 2007
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Stage set for revival of ailing SCL

Special Correspondent

Paswan assures government of support

SAIL officials had visited the PSU
Feasibility report prepared

Kozhikode: The stage has been set for the revival of the ailing Steel Complex Limited (SCL), a public sector undertaking of the State Government in Kozhikode.

Union Minister for Chemicals, Fertilizers and Steel, Ram Vilas Paswan, has assured the Government that the Centre will support technologically and financially to rejuvenate the sick industrial unit.

Three stages

In a letter to Minister for Industries Elamaram Karim, which was released to the media here on Friday, Mr. Paswan said that the officials of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) proposed the revival of the SCL in three stages.

The letter was in response to a proposal from Mr. Karim to the Union Minister in June seeking to take over the SCL.

Mr. Paswan said that he had examined the matter in consultation with SAIL. Officials of SAIL had visited SCL.

Based on the studies conducted on plant facilities and operational limitations and discussion with the Managing Director of the SCL, a feasibility report for the revival of the unit was prepared, he said.

The report envisages the revival in three stages to increase its production level from the existing 20,000 tonnes per year to 50,000 tonnes per year.

The SCL officials had also agreed to the recommendations of the report.

In the first stage, the production will be increased from the existing 20,000 to 36,500 tonnes per year through optimisation of process parameters and maintenance practices of electric arc furnace and billet caster. It will be without any capital investment in a six-month period.

Two experts of the Ranchi-based Research Centre for Iron and Steel, a corporate research and development of SAIL, have already been deputed for the purpose since June.

Initiatives have been taken to meet the scrap requirements as well as find a suitable means for the disposal of the billets.

Increase in production

The second stage envisages the increase of production to 50,000 tonnes a year with a capital investment of around Rs. 3 crore.

The details of the equipment required to implement this have already been worked out.

It will be taken up as soon as stage one activities are completed.

The timeframe for stage two is 10 months, Mr. Paswan said.The proposal for setting up of 10 tonnes per year rolling mill with a capital investment of about Rs.50 crore will be taken up in the third stage. The project duration for this stage is 18 months.

Mr. Paswan said that the SAIL would provide full technological and marketing support for turnabout of the SCL so that the latter becomes financially self-sustaining.

Regarding financial commitments, SAIL would provide the necessary support for stage one.

The financial support for stage two and three would be finalised only after completion of stage one, he said.

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