Vizag Steel Plant to invest Rs 5000 cr in new units

The Board of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has given its nod for new units in the company's vicinity here. These include setting up of a seamless tube mill at an estimated cost of Rs 2,300 crore and installation of coke oven battery-5 for Rs 2,620 crore. The company has already taken up a Rs 12,300-crore expansion plan, which is nearing completion.

As a major initiative of expanding its product mix capacity, the Navratna company would set up the seamless tube mill of 400,000 tonnes per annum capacity. VSP would produce seamless tubes of 5.5 to 18 inch with a provision to produce even less than 5.5 inch tubes. Currently, only up to 14 inch tubes are being produced in the private sector. Once VSP completes its plan to produce 18 inch and above tubes, it will become the only steel plant in the country to produce such high dia tubes, AP Choudhary, chairman and managing director, said. The new mill will be completed in 30 months from the date of order placement.

 

The proposed tube mill will cater to the needs of oil exploration and refining, gas, petrochemicals, power sector, fertilisers as well as engineering industries. VSP will have the advantage of being shore-based to export these tubes to neighbouring nations like Malaysia, Singapore and Korea. The mill will either be through a joint venture or standalone, he said.

Besides, in its journey to become a 20-mtpa company by 2020 at a single location, VSP will build the coke oven battery-5 along with a byproduct plant and its associated facilities to meet its metallurgical coke needs. MN Dastur & Co, the consultant, has already made the detailed project report. Choudhary said of the Rs 2,620 crore envisaged for new coke oven plant, around Rs 500 crore would be spent on the environment management system.