Vizag Steel invites Rs1000cr private investment

State-owned Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) is inviting private investment to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore to set up additional power and air separation plants to meet the requirements of expanded capacity of the plant.

"We need additional power and air separation plants to produce 6.3 million tonnes of liquid steel. The first stage of the Rs 8,692-crore proposed expansion work would be completed in three years," Y Siva Sagar Rao, chairman & managing director, VSP, told mediapersons.

For the second phase of work, at least 200 mw of power and 2x1,200-tonne per day oxygen plants are required to run the unit, according to him.

As the company has decided to outsource the two facilities, private investors could develop the facilities on a build, own and operate basis. According to the present estimates, a developer has to invest over Rs 1,000 crore to set up the facilities.

Rao expressed hope that VSP's turnover would touch Rs 14,000 crore by 2011 after the completion of the first phase of expansion.

As part of the expansion, VSP would produce seamless pipes. "Our value-added products percentage would increase to about 40 per cent from the existing 25 per cent and about 20 per cent of our total products would be exported," he said.