SAIL invests Rs 421 bn on capacity expansion plan

Till July 2013, state-run firm Steel Authority of India (SAIL) invested Rs 42,101 crore out of the proposed Rs 61,870 crore it plans to spend on modernisation and expansion of its existing facilities. Through this investment, the company plans to raise its crude steel production capacity to 21.4 million tonne per annum (mn tpa) from 12.8 mn tpa now. In September 2010, the company completed expansion of Salem steel plant. Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said the firm is taking efforts to complete progressively work on other plants by 2014. SAIL invested Rs 9,918 crore in Bhilai, Rs 9,679 crore in Rourkela, Rs 1,691 crore in Durgapur facility, Rs 3,662 crore in Bokatro plant and Rs 14,890 crore in its IISCO plant in Burnpur and Rs 2,261 crore in Salem plant. There has been delay in the implementation of the project because of unforeseen soil conditions encountered, logistics problems due to brownfield nature of job and lack of deployment of technically competent manpower by the contractors.