Nilachal Ispat Steel Plant To Go On Stream By Dec

The one million tonne steel plant of Nilachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), coming up at Duburi in Jajpur district of Orissa, will go on steam by the end of December this year.

The civil construction work of the project is complete and the testing and synchronisation of equipment is now on, S D Kapoor, chairman and managing director of Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC), said here yesterday. Kapoor is in the city to attend the 55th annual technical meeting of the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM).

MMTC is the chief promoter of the project. The Rs 950 crore venture has a debt equity ratio of 2:1. Of the Rs 300-odd crore equity base, MMTC has contributed Rs 150 crore while the Orissa government's share is Rs 75 crore. The rest is made up by contributions from equipment suppliers and sundry investors.

 

A consortium of banks and financial institutions led by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has provided the debt component.

Kapoor said there was a temporary fund crunch as the project could not go ahead with its proposed initial public offer of Rs 165 crore due to gloomy market conditions. But it has been overcome with increased contributions from promoters and FIs.

In the first phase the plant will make only blast furnace products like pig iron and slag. Later, the product range will be expanded to other steel items.

The plant will export 20-25 per cent of its output and market the rest in the country. It will employ about 600 people.

Kapoor said the stove heating of the plant has been done successfully. The temperature of the stove has already reached 700 degree Centigrade. He said though commercial production at the plant was supposed to start by August this year, it was delayed as the construction work was completely paralysed for about 8-10 weeks due to rains and floods during the monsoon.

Meanwhile, a sister concern of NINL, Konark Metcoke Ltd (KMCL), which will supply coke to the integrated steel plant, is coming up in the vicinity of the main unit at an investment of Rs 250 crore. The battery heating of KMCL is expected by March, 2002, Kapoor said.