Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Vizag Steel Plant to formally inaugurate RINL's new expanded 6.3 million tonne (mt) facility. For Modi, who has already visited Rourkela and Burnpur to inaugurate Steel Authority's steel plants this will be the third such visit in as many months. While the Modi government has taken initiative to set up new steelmaking capacity domestic steel majors battling indifferent demand from infrastructure and consumer sectors are hoping the Prime Minister'ssupport will soon translate into higher infra spends and lead to a reversal in fortunes.
"The PM is likely to visit Visakhapatnam sometime during the end of June or early July. The date is likely to be confirmed soon. He will dedicate Vizag steel plant (VSP)'s expanded facility to the nation," a steel ministry official said. RINL which runs the VSP has more than doubled the plant's steelmaking capacity from 3 to 6.3 mt at a cost of Rs 12,400 crore.
he Modi government has taken an initiative to set up four new integrated steel plants in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, initiating public investment in steel after four decades. This is in step with the PM's keenness to raise India's steelmaking capacity from 82 to to 300 mt by 2025. The new plants would add up to 24 million tonne of steel-producing capacity. RINL is envisaged to play a key role in setting up these plants in which two other central PSUs such as the SAIL, and NMDC will also taking leading roles. In two months after announcing plans for the new plants, Modi attended a MoU ceremony at Bastar on May 9, where NMDC, the country's largest mining company, is partnering SAIL to set up the first of these four plants, a Rs 20,000-crore greenfield 3 million tonne steel plant. Interestingly, while PSUs are seen taking the lead in setting up these steel and mining units, top steel ministry sources said the private sector players would also be offered stake ..
he move comes when the domestic steel industry is reeling under low demand and threat of cheaper imports. Alongwith mining issues and land acquisition problems, this has delayed a number of planned capacity expansions both in the public and private sector. With few new capacity additions, apprehensions have been raised about whether India can achieve its ambitious steel production target of 300 mt by 2025. In Rourkela last month, Modi exhorted the domestic steel industry to raise its production capacity to bridge the gap with China in line with the government's plans to boost the country's manufacturing sector.
Source: ET
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