Gujarat NRE signs pact with SAIL

Gujarat NRE Coke Limited, a manufacturer of low ash metallurgical coke (LAMC), has signed an agreement with Sailcon, a division of Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

Under the agreement Sailcon would be providing consultancy services for the implementation of 15 Mw power plant each at Bhachau and Dharwad, totalling 30 Mw.

The power plants are being designed by using the sensible heat of the flue gas generated from GNCL's coke oven batteries.

Each power plant is expected to cost around Rs 50 crore and will be commissioned within 24 months.

The setting up of the power plants would help reduce the operating cost of its steel mills. The company also has plans to set up a 3rd power plant of 15 Mw at its Jamnagar coke works which would be implemented in the 2nd phase.

Gujarat NRE plans to double the coke making capacities at its Dharwad plant in Karnataka.

It will also set up a coal washery in Bachau, Gujarat. The company is hopeful to do better in 2007-08 as the Chinese coke prices have been moving up sharply in the last few months after languishing for more than a year.

The demand for the Chinese coke decides the fate of the rest of the global coke industry.

The Chinese price rise has a natural and direct effect on the bottom line of Gujarat NRE Coke, which is the largest producer of the commodity in the non-captive sector in the country.