RINL unveils ambitious expansion plan

The Navratna company to invest Rs.23,000 crore to give it an additional four million tonne capacity

RINL Chairman and Managing Director A.P Choudhury addressing the media in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. He is flanked by T.K Chand, Director (Commercial) and P. Madhusudhan, Director (Finance). Photo: K.R. Deepak

In a big step forward, the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, has decided to invest approximately Rs.23,000 crore on next phase of expansion, which would give it an additional four million tonne capacity. At present, the Navratna company is ramping up various facilities developed under the first phase of expansion from three to 6.3 million tonne with an investment of Rs.12,500 crore. RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.P. Choudhary told reporters on Thursday evening that the next phase of expansion would enable them to foray into manufacturing high-end flat products and seamless tubes required for defence and other sectors.

Along with the first phase of expansion, which is at stabilisation stage, RINL is also investing about Rs.7,500 crore on capital repairs of Blast Furnaces Krishna and Godavari and other facilities, opting for pulverised coal injection to substitute Blast Furnace coal, upgrading three converters, and increasing techno-economic parameters of Steel Melt Shop-1. All these initiatives will increase the capacity by one million tonne, thereby taking the production to 7.3 million tonne within a year.

Mr. Choudhary said they had already produced 1.6 million tonne of hot metal for the new Blast Furnace, which was commissioned in April, 2012. New sinter plant started producing and is under stabilisation.

This will help in stepping up the production from the new Blast Furnace. The new Steel Melt Shop is all set to start operations in early October for which dummy blowing has already started. New Wire Rod Mill hot commissioning is in progress and wire rod of higher quality will be made available in the market from end of next month

Mr. Choudhary said during the first five months of current fiscal, the company recorded a growth of nine per cent in saleable steel production. With the balance units of expansion lined up for commissioning, RINL was confident of achieving the targeted growth of 20 per cent in saleable steel during the year with additional hot metal touching 4.5 million tonne.

RINL Director (Commercial) T.K. Chand and Director (Finance) P. Madhusudhan were also present.