Raw material needs of public sector steel majors SAIL and RINL are going to increase by up to 39 per cent in three years as they are on the verge of completing capacity expansion programmes.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said Rashtriya Ispat Nigam’s (RINL) iron ore requirement will be increasing by 39.39 per cent in 2015-16 to 9.2 million tonne (MT).
Similarly, RINL’s coking coal requirement will increase to 7.08 MT by 2015-16, he said.
Talking about Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Verma said that its coking coal requirements are going to increase by 33.33 per cent in 2015-16, to 19.2 MT.
Besides, its iron ore requirements will go up by 32.42 per cent to 36.80 MT as the company is in the middle of expanding its steel capacity to 21.4 MT.
SAIL currently needs 27.79 MT iron ore and 14.40 MT coking coal to meet the requirements of its 6 plants including Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela and IISCO Burnpur.
RINL currently requires about 6.25 MT coking coal and 6.6 MT iron ore.
Coking coal and iron ore are two most important raw materials for making steel. Of this, iron ore requirements are met through domestic production, while most of the coking coal needs are met through imports.
Replying to a separate question, Verma said that SAIL has already spent Rs 44,112 crore on its capacity expansion as on March, 2013 against a target of Rs 72,134 crore.
Similarly, RINL has incurred Rs 10,236 crore till March, 2013 on its expansion, he said.
RINL, the Vishakhapatnam-based steel major, has completed its expansion and is in the middle of stabilising its new units, which will take its total steel producing capacity to 6.3 million tonnes. The company is also in the process of upgrading its existing facilities.