ICVL: Steel Min to review MoUs and JVs on June 5

Meeting is critical as Coal India, NTPC seek to quit the 5-member venture of state-run firms

International Coal Ventures Ltd's (ICVL) future may be decided this week when the steel ministry takes a review of the memorandum of understandings and joint ventures inked by PSUs under its administrative control.

Sources close to the development said Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma will review on June 5 the status of the MoUs and JVs signed by SAIL, RINL, NMDC and others.

The meeting assumes importance, particularly for ICVL as CIL and NTPC have already expressed their intention to exit from the five-member consortium of state-run firms. Incidentally, the three remaining PSUs- SAIL, RINL and NMDC - are under the administrative control of the steel ministry.

In the event of CIL and NTPC's exit from the consortium, the steel ministry plans to distribute their respective stakes of 28 per cent and 14 per cent among the three remaining members and not to induct a new partner, sources said.
    
Last year, NTPC had decided to opt out of the venture as ICVL's focus was more on to secure coking coal to meet requirements of steel makers than on thermal coal for generating power.
   
CIL Board has also recently agreed to walk out of ICVL as it felt that it was not advantageous for the company to be a part of the consortium since it only involves financial burden without commensurate advantage.
   
ICVL was incorporated in 2009 as a joint venture between SAIL, RINL, CIL, NMDC and NTPC with the mandate of securing overseas coking coal and thermal coal assets. It aimed to own 500 million tonnes of coal reserves by fiscal 2019-2020.
   
Despite enjoying the status of a 'Navaratna' firm without having formal Navaratna status, ICVL has failed to make a mark since its inception in 2009. On a couple of occasions, it had to retreat from plans to acquire an overseas asset after discords crept in and consensus took longer than expected.
    
The minister would also review status of the high-profile joint venture between SAIL and Posco, which is still hanging in the balance for more than a year now on the shareholding issue. Issues relating to NMDC-Severstal joint venture on the proposed three million tonnes a year steel plant in Karnataka are also part of the agenda.