The 25-year-old public sector steel manufacturing giant, the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is currently undertaking a Rs 5,000-crore massive modernisation plan at its Bhilai plant to enhance its production capacity to the tune of five mt by the year 2002, the end of Ninth Plan period.
Talking to UNI, SAIL's chief of corporate affairs Shoeb Ahmed said that various projects have been undertaken by the company, while several others are in the offing at the Bhilai plant. This will make the plant comparable to international steel manufacturing plants.
In 1996-97, five projects costing Rs 208 crore were commissioned, including the state-of-the-art coke oven battery.
Apart from this, a host of projects totalling Rs 1,972 crore are in various stages of production, with 10 projects costing Rs 572 crore to be completed by March 1998. These projects include modernisation of rail and structural mill, upgradation of blast furnace, primary crushing and conveying system in its mines and rotary charging system in blast furnace.
A new sinter plant with a rated capacity of 3.2 mt per year and sanction cost of Rs 809.72 crore is expected to be commissioned by March 1999.
Ahmed further said that already SAIL's Durgapur Steel Plant, after its modernisation has been continuously improving its performance and is expected to attain 100 per cent capacity utilisation by the end of this financial year.
The Rs 2,000 crore modernisation plan being carried out at the Bokaro Steel Plant is taking final shape with the hot-run trial run of continuous casting machine and the commissioning of the new hydraulic cooler in the hot strip mill.
Another of its plants, the Rourkela Steel Plant, a major producer of diversified range of sophisticated steel products, enters 1998 on an upbeat note. Its Rs 5000-crore modernisation programme was completed in 1997 and will soon be attaining full capacity utilisation.
He said that the modernisation programme of its plants will increase productivity and improve product quality making environment friendly steel.
In order to combat the market slump, SAIL has adopted aggressive marketing strategies in the competitive environment where domestic demand continues to be weak now.
It is orienting product mix to suit market requirements and adjusting production in tune with the changes in market demand.
Ahmed said to reduce costs the SAIL is also undertaking a Rs 800-crore cost reduction plan to make the company internationally competitive.
The plan aims to reduce the fiscal costs by 10 per cent.
On the export front, SAIL has also prepared a plan outlining global vision, including acquiring assets abroad.
The global vision will be put up for approval to the resurrected board once the Navratna status becomes operational with the induction of new members in the board of directors.
It has already established strategic alliances with regular buyers and the company is undertaking systematic collection of marketing intelligence to keep abreast with the emerging trends. SAIL is on the lookout for new markets and exploring the US and some of the European countries. It has already started exporting to Canada, Australia, Taiwan and Malaysia, Ahmed added.
