Jindal Stainless on Wednesday said it has inked partnership with public sector unit Braithwaite & Co Limited (BCL) to develop stainless steel foot-over and road-over bridges.
Under the agreement, Jindal Stainless aims to supply 2 lakh tonnes of stainless steel to the railways, it said in a statement.
"An MoU was signed with Braithwaite and Co Limited (BCL), a government of India undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, to develop stainless steel foot-over-bridges (FOBs), road-over-bridges (ROBs) etc. The collaboration comes at a time when the railways is in the process of modernisation on a massive scale. The company will supply stainless steel to BCL for developing FOBs on railway platforms, ROBs on municipal roads, smart city skywalks, road bridges, and rail bridges," Jindal Stainless said.
The company is already working with BCL for developing railway wagons. This collaboration is to develop a sustainable railway infrastructure together, Jindal Stainless Director Vijay Sharma said.
BCL, Jindal Stainless said, is a seasoned fabricator for the Indian Railways and has led several successful projects like the Howrah Bridge and Vidyasagar Setu projects in Kolkata, Ganga Bridge in Patna, and Jubilee Bridge in West Bengal.
"BCL has an expertise in structural fabrication and manufacturing various models of wagons involving stainless steel fabrication. We look forward to a long-term association backed by specialized quality products and technical support from Jindal Stainless," BCL CMD Yatish Kumar said.
Due to its inherent advantages of corrosion resistance, higher strength-to-weight ratio, and a low life cycle cost with minimal maintenance requirement, stainless steel is gaining prominence as the preferred structural raw material for developing infrastructure, according to an expert.