Vizag Profiles to set up steel unit in East Godavari

The Visakhapatnam-based Vizag Profiles Group is setting up a 60,000-tonne capacity steel unit with an investment of Rs 27 crore at Kothapeta in East Godavari district.

The group, which has been engaged in steel manufacturing, steel trading and software business, acquired Simhadri Steel, a Rs 4.5 crore steel TMT bars manufacturing unit with an annual production capacity of 45,000 tonne, last fiscal.

"Apart from the proposed steel unit in East Godavari, we will also be setting up a six megawatt gas-based captive power plant. GAIL has agreed to supply 25,000 cubic metre of gas a day, which will be utilised to run the steel unit. This will help us reduce the production cost substantially," B Satish Kumar, the chief executive officer of Vizag Profiles Group, told Business Standard.

"Of the Rs 27 crore investment for the project, Rs 8 crore will be brought in by the promoters and the rest will be met through borrowings from the State Bank of India overseas branch. The proposed steel unit will be fully operational by May and will manufacture steel ingots and steel billets with sponge iron and steel scrap as raw material," he said.

The group, which is SAIL's authorised dealer for TMT bars and light structures in the state, expects to trade nearly one lakh tonne of steel in south India through its network this fiscal.

"The group registered a Rs 300 crore turnover last fiscal. This fiscal, we hope to touch the Rs 400-crore mark," Kumar said.