RINL Soft-Pedals On 11-mt Expansion Plans

Entry into flat products segment part of future strategy.

- Madhumita Mookerji

Long products major Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, which had drafted a short-term roadmap for 11 million tons (mt) of production by 2018-19, has slowed down a bit on its expansion plans, reliable sources have informed Steel Insights.

The public sector steel major had also drafted a roadmap for 20 mt by 2030 in keeping with the government’s grandiose plans of 300 mt by 2030.

Within this 11-mt expansion strategy, the PSU is also mulling plans to enter the flat products space for which the company will need separate facility. “The detailed project report (DPR) is ready for the 11-mt expansion. All the details with regard to its 7.3 mt expansion is over and the company was working on the 11-mt roadmap. However, seeing the current depressed market scenario, RINL is dragging its feet a little with regard to its expansion plans,” a source informed, adding, “The pace at which RINL was moving ahead with its expansion plans have decelerated.”

As part of its plans to enter the flat products segment, the company has a slab caster in mind within the Vizag Steel plant complex, it is learnt.

Where its capacity is concerned, RINL’s Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) initially had a 3 mt capacity. It revamped this and added a capacity of 3.3 mt and by revamping it further, has taken this up to 7.3 mt by the end of the current fiscal, the source informed. This current capacity expansion involved revamping of old equipment and new capacity addition of 3.3 mt.

The PSU is likely to close the current fiscal of 2016-17 with a production volume of 4.3 mt, the source said, adding that after all RINL’s capacities have gone onstream, the production capacity has been raised to 6.3 mt but it will be producing 4.3 mt this fiscal-end.