JSW Steel plans Rs 7,000 cr capex

Homegrown steel major JSW Steel today said it earmarked a capex of Rs 7,000 crore for the current financial year and plans to increase capacity of its Bellary plant in Karnataka from 7 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 10mtpa by the end of this year.

"We have earmarked Rs 7,000 crore as our capex for the current financial year," JSW Steel joint managing director and group chief financial officer Seshagiri Rao told reporters on the sidelines of a function organised by Dun and Bradstreet here today. "We will also be increasing the capacity of our Bellary plant from 7mtpa to 10mtpa by the end of this fiscal," he added.

Group chairman Sajjan Jindal had earlier announced that the company would first increase capacity to 10mtpa and then up it further to 16mtpa over the next three years.

The company would require 5mt coal for the year, Rao said.  "We need 5mt coal, both semi-hard and hard and have tied up with companies for volumes," he said, adding the company is looking at acquiring coal mines in Australia, South Africa, the US and Canada.

Rao further said there is a strong raw material cost pressure at present.

When asked whether the Maoist issue is affecting the company, he said, "the Maoist issue is a concern...The challenge is there".

He said the company would go ahead with its West Bengal project for which it has set up a special purpose vehicle called JSW Bengal Steel.