JSW Steel is all set to become the country's largest steel maker by next month, surpassing state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL), with the commissioning of 3.2 million tonne per annum blast furnace at its Vijaynagar plant in Karnataka.
After the new capacity addition, JSW will be able to produce 14.3 million tonne per annum steel, 0.4 million tonne more than SAIL.
"Our expansion is on track. We should be starting our new blast furnace sometime in April end," JSW Steel's Director Marketing Jayant Acharya told reporters here on the sidelines of a steel conference.
At present, the company has a steel making capacity of about 7.8 million tonne per annum at its Vijaynagar and Salem units.
It entered into a deal in December to acquire 41.29% stake in loss-making Ispat Industries having a capacity of about 3.3 million tonne per annum.
By 2020, the Sajjan Jindal-led company is aiming to produce 34 million tonne of steel annually with greenfield integrated steel plants coming up in West Bengal and Jharkhand, while adding further capacities at the Vijaynagar and Salem units.
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On the other hand, SAIL currently has a production capacity of about 13.8 million tonne per annum and is aiming to expand it to over 60 million tonne per annum by 2020.
Recently, JSW had announced plans to set up a new 2.3 million tonne per annum cold rolling mill capacity in two phases at its Vijaynagar plant at an estimated investment of about Rs 4,000 crore.
Asked about the status of its proposed 10 million tonne per annum plant at Jharkhand, Acharya said, "We are still looking for land and other clearances and approvals".
Talking about the iron-ore processing capacities, Acharya said that the company is in the process of putting up two iron-ore fines beneficiation plants of 10 million tonne per annum capacity, while a 5 million tonne per annum pellets plant will be commissioned this year.
JSW currently has a consolidated net debt of Rs 14,300 crore as on December 31, 2010, while its cash reserves are at about Rs 2,190 crore.
Yesterday, it also announced to launch the open offer on March 17, for picking up an additional 20% stake from public shareholders of the Ispat Industries at Rs 20.54 a share. The offer will close on April 5.
Shares of the company closed at Rs 909.15 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange, down by 1.98% from the previous close.