SAIL not to put brakes on current expansion plan

PSU steel company Steel Authority of India (SAIL) today said that the current economic crisis would have no impact on its ongoing expansion plan.

"We will not put brakes on the current expansion plan of the company," SAIL Chairman and Managing Director S K Roongta told reporters here on the sidelines of a FICCI event.

In four years, SAIL plans to invest Rs 54,000 crore in expanding the saleable steel production from 13 million tonnes to 24.5 million tonnes.

The expansion will entail an investment of Rs 54,000 crore with a debt-equity ratio of 1:1.

Roongta said that the funding was yet to be tied up.

He, however, said that the directional plan for 2020 would be affected by the economic recession. The company plans to take the capacity to 60 million tonnes by then.

There had been a slackening demand for steel due to the crisis, according to him.

When asked about the revenue outlook for the current fiscal, he said that in the first half, the company's revenue had risen by 40 per cent.

On steel prices, he said that they were under pressure.