Steelmaker RINL, CCI sign agreement to set up cement plant

State-run Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) today said it has entered into an MoU with Cement Corporation of India (CCI) for setting up a 2 million tonne capacity cement plant at a cost of Rs 150 crore.
RINL is the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), while CCI is a PSU under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
According to a press release issued by the steelmaker, the cement plant would be fly ash and blast furnace (BF) slag- based manufacturing unit.
The facility, to be built by both the PSUs under a joint venture at the RINL premises in Visakhapatnam, will be completed in two phases with one million tonne capacity each.

RINL generates a large quantity of BF slag and fly ash, the prime raw materials for cements, it said.
Manoj Misra, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of CCI and P C Mohapatra, Director (Projects), RINL signed the MoU in the presence P Madhusudan, CMD of RINL, it added.

"The JV project will approximately cost Rs 150 crore. RINL is offering around 35 acres of land for the proposed plant in its premises. The project is proposed to be completed in 15 months from the date of placement of order," it said.
Madhusudan hoped CCI would set up the plant with state -of-the-art technology in a pollution-free environment, with professional way and in a time-bound manner.

Misra said CCI is one of the lowest cost producers of cement in the country and joining hands with RINL will be a win-win situation for both the companies.
The plant will help both the PSUs to offer more integrated product solutions to their customers, he added.