SAIL open to partnering NMDC for proposed K'taka plant

The country's largest steel maker Steel Authority of India (SAIL) today said it is open to partnering NMDC in setting up a steel plant in Karnataka, primarily catering to sectors like the automobile and consumer durables.

"Well, if they (NMDC) are looking for partners particularly among PSUs, we will definitely look to engage ourselves with them," SAIL Chairman S K Roongta told reporters here.

NMDC, the country's largest iron ore miner has proposed setting up a 5-MTPA steel plant in a joint-venture format. However, the proposal is still at a nascent stage.

The two PSUs, meanwhile, had recently agreed to jointly develop limestone mines in Himachal Pradesh.

SAIL's call for partnering NMDC hints at a shift in the business strategy of local producers as it comes close on the heels of the entry of global steel giant ArcelorMittal in India in partnership with galvanised steel maker Uttam Galva.

Roongta said SAIL will take its overall capacity for value-added steel products to close to 3-million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in the next two years.

"We will commission state-of-the-art 1.2-MTPA Cold-rolled steel mill in Bokaro in mid-2011. Coupled with our present capacity at Rourkela and Bokaro Steel plants, the company's overall capacity to produce such items would be 2.7-MTPA," he said.

Such products help the company to resist the pressure caused by the slump in off takes amid economic crisis, he said, adding their demand is still seen rising.