Visa lights up blast furnace at Orissa

The coke oven project involves investment of Rs 160 crore

Visa Industries, part of the Rs 1,250 crore Visa Group, has commissioned its first blast furnace and achieved the financial closure of 400,000 tonne per annum stamp charged coke oven project at its proposed 1.5 million tonne integrated steel and stainless steel plant coming up at the Kalinganagar Industrial Complex, Orissa.

Work on the coke oven project has already been initiated with promoters' equity and is expected to be completed by December 2005.

The financial closure of the coke oven project, involves a total investment of Rs 160 crore.

The funding of the coke oven project has been through a debt-equity ratio of 65:35.

The entire equity has already been brought in by the promoters and the term loan component of Rs 104 crore has since been tied up from UCO Bank, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of Hyderabad and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

"The commissioning of the blast furnace is our first milestone in a project which we are certain will set new standards in terms of quality and implementation speed" said Visa Industries' chairman Vishambhar Saran.

The move marks Visa Industries' entry into the pig iron market and in the course of the next 18 months will pave the way to set up 0.5 million tonne steel making capacity.

"The blast furnace is equipped with the best available technology and is among the most advanced of its kind in the country", said Visa Industries' managing director, Vishal Agarwal.

Visa Industries has invested Rs 124.35 crore towards the cost of the blast furnace and the related infrastructure development.

With the blast furnace commissioned and the financial closure of the coke oven plant achieved the company will now be putting in place the investments necessary to set up the 300,000 tonne per annum DRI kilns from Lurgi, 50,000 tonme per annum ferrochrome plant, 70 tonne electric arc furnace and matching SMS facility to complete its chain to produce 0.5 million tonne steel by the end of 2006.

Earlier in the day,speaking at an international conference minerals-metals-manufacturing organised by the Confederation of Industry, Saran said, the government needs to exercise sufficient caution while committing large mineral deposits to some so-called 'mega' projects, since there is a concern about when they will materialise, if at all.