The Visakhapatnam steel plant - RINL - and PowerGrid signed a shareholders’ agreement on Wednesday at Gurgaon to form a joint venture company - RINL-POWERGRID TLT Limited - with 50:50 shareholding for setting up a unit to manufacture transmission line towers here, according to an RINL press release here on Thursday.

The agreement was signed by Wilson David, the GM (Projects)-Technology-RINL, and Akhil Kumar, GM(JV)-POWERGRID, in the presence of P Madhusudan, CMD of RINL, and RN Nayak, CMD of PowerGrid.

The tower unit with an annual capacity of 1,20,000 tonnes will be set up with an investment of around Rs 330 crore in the first phase. In the second phase, it is planned to have rolling mills which will enhance the total capacity to 1,80,000 tonnes per annum of transmission line tower parts. The joint venture will have the advantage of procuring black angles and semis from the RINL and it will have a ready market for the finished products. RINL is expected to supply around 2 lakh tonnes of angles/ semis at the completion of the second phase of the project.

MECON, the consultant, has prepared the techno-economic feasibility report. Land has already been earmarked for the project by the RINL. Madhusudan, the CMD of RINL, gave an assurance that the first phase of the project would be implemented as planned and immediately thereafter the second phase of the project shall be taken up.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in