JSW Steel to commission electrical grade steel facility next fiscal

The company is collaborating with Japan's JFE Steel Corp for technical know-how

JSW Steel Limited will commission the new plant to manufacture non-grain oriented (CRNO) grade electrical steel with a capacity of 2,00,000 tonne per annum at Vijayanagar steel complex in Bellary district during the next financial year, a top company official said.

"We have already placed orders for major equipment and expect to commission the facility by FY2015," Sajjan Jindal, chairman and managing director, JSW Steel said.

Addressing the shareholders at the 19th annual general meeting of the company on Tuesday, he said, the company would commission the new facility in collaboration with JFE Steel Corp of Japan.

"Our strategic collaboration with JFE Steel Corp, especially in technological know-how, is helping us in enriching our product mix, and will enable us to produce very high grades of steel, which are currently not manufactured by Indian steel players," he said.

In addition to a new 2.3 million tonne per annum cold rolling mill, which will focus on automotive and appliance grade steel, the company has signed various agreements with JFE Steel in November 2012 to collaborate for the manufacturing of electrical steel, the first such venture in India, he said.

Jindal also announced that the company has secured Stage-I forest clearance for iron and manganese ore mining project in Ankua and the Rohne coking coal block in Jharkhand from the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF).

He also called upon the government to put in place a transparent process for allocating natural resources through auctions and said the government must seriously consider and implement such measures.

"Despite our country being endowed with high quality iron ore resources, some Indian steel mills have now resorted to importing iron ore. Additionally, as other nations restrict exports of valuable natural resources, India continues to export iron ore. Transforming India's natural resources into value-added finished products domestically must be given priority. Policies addressing these issues will go a long way in protecting and augmenting the capabilities of the Indian steel industry," he said.

JSW Steel is investing in R&D to reduce the dependency on high quality iron ore and substitute it with inferior iron ore feedstock, he said, adding that the company has successfully used low-grade iron ore material.