Sail Pens Revival Plan For Iisco & #39;S Kulti Works

The growth division of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has reiterated its commitment towards the first iron and steel producer in the country, Kulti Works of the Indian Iron and Steel Co Ltd (IISCO).

Senior officials of the growth division said, the possibility of closing down the Kulti Works was unfounded. The growth division recently submitted a turnaround proposal for the Kulti Works to make it viable in the long run.

However, SAIL may not be able to study the proposal within the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) deadline set for September 4.

The turnaround proposal centres on setting up of a mini blast furnace and converting one of Kulti's cast iron spun pipe plants to ductile iron spun pipe plant at a cost of around Rs 50 crore, substantially utilising in-house facilities.

 

The basic logic behind the proposal is that while the availability of cast iron pipes outstrip demand, it is the other way round for ductile iron pipes. Already the demand for ductile iron pipes is higher than its installed capacity. With the growth in demand, there would be no problem in marketing ductile iron pipes.

The proposal also talks about reducing Kulti's manpower from 3,200 to 1,700. This would mean voluntary retirement pay off of around Rs 90 crore. SAIL is hopeful that government would support the scheme in the form of loans with government guarantee as is being done for the voluntary retirement scheme of SAIL. Production of value-added items, higher order for Kulti's castings from SAIL units and improvement in efficiency of steel foundry are the other points in the turnaround proposal.

Meanwhile, Subrato Mookerjee, president, WBPNTUC, and mayor of Kolkata, has written to the prime minister and steel minister, demanding takeover of the Kulti Works of IISCO by the growth division of SAIL. Mukherjee has emphasised that Kulti Works can turnaround with an investment of only Rs 60 crore.