Vizag Steel

Govt considering RINL merger with SAIL to ensure survival of Vizag plant

The government is considering merger of RINL with another state-owned steel company SAIL as one of the options to ensure survival of RINL's plant and resolve the financial and operational issues being faced by the Andhra Pradesh-based steel maker, sources said. To provide capital for continuity of operations at the RINL's steel plant, plans like sale of land parcel to NMDC and bank loans are also being worked out, they told PTI. The DFS secretary, steel secretary and top officials of public sector lender SBI also held a meeting recently over the RINL issue. SBI has significant loan exposure to RINL. "The government wants to provide a permanent solution to the issue. One of the options being discussed is the merger of RINL with SAIL," the sources said. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), under the Ministry of Steel, owns and operates a 7.5 million tonnes plant at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It holds the distinction of being India's first shore-based integrated steel plant. SAIL

Shipment of raw materials from AGPL resumes for Vizag steel plant

In a relief for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), shipment of essential raw material from Adani Gangavaram Port Ltd (AGPL) has resumed, said an official on Friday. Shipment of raw materials such as coking coal, limestone and others, which are key for making steel, had been disrupted since April 12. Atul Bhatt, chairman and managing director (CMD), VSP, which is also known as Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), thanked all the stakeholders for resolving the impasse which crippled the industry for more than a month. "Bhatt extended his heartfelt gratitude to all the stakeholders who played a crucial role in resolving the crisis of transportation of essential raw material from AGPL to RINL," a press release from the steel plant said. He said their collective efforts have been instrumental in ensuring the continuity of RINL operations and sustaining economic growth in the region. On May 8, nearly 1,000 RINL employees marched to the nearby Gangavaram port to plead with its agitating emplo

TDP MP urges Centre to review 100% equity divestment in Vizag Steel Plant

TDP Member of Parliament Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar on Friday demanded that the Centre take steps for revival of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and review its decision to divest government stake. He was speaking in Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had in January 2021 given in-principle approval for 100 per cent strategic disinvestment of the government shareholding in RINL -- also called Visakhapatnam Steel Plant or Vizag Steel -- along with RINL's stake in its subsidiaries/joint ventures. "Subsequent to the decision of the government, there is much discontent among crores and crores of people of Andhra Pradesh. Employees and union of the plant are staging demonstrations and protesting against the decision. The request to reconsider the government decision has been made in different fora by people's representatives," Kumar said. He told the House that RINL was operating at 68 per cent of 6.3 MTPA capacity up to February 2023. Though the blast ...

Vizag Steel Plant restarts 'Blast Furnace-3' to raise hot metal production

The Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), which is also known as Vizag Steel Plant, on Saturday restarted its Blast Furnace-3 (BF-3) to raise hot metal production by 2 million tonne per annum. The added capacity will also enable the steel plant to clock increased sales turnover of Rs 500 crore per month. "The RINL has shown the world how to produce the best quality steel in spite of raw material crunch. This day is a historic day in the history of RINL as we have lit up the BF-3," said its chairman and managing director, Atul Bhatt, in a press release. Named 'Annapurna', symbolising abundance and prosperity, Bhatt exuded confidence that BF-3 would bring prosperity to the steel plant located in the port city. He was accompanied by other officials. The lighting up of BF-3 is aimed at reviving the fortunes of Vizag Steel Plant and rejuvenating its operations. The BF-3 has been down since January 2022 due to raw material shortage, said a steel plant official to PTI.

Vizag Steel Plant forges deal with JSPL for Rs 900 cr working capital

The Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, known as Vizag steel plant, has forged a deal with Jindal Steel and Power Ltd to get an infusion of working capital up to Rs 900 crore in a bid to propel sales revenue, monthly turnover and slash losses. The timely deal enables the steel plant to procure raw material and start consistent Blast Furnace-3 (BF-3) operations with the planned blowing-in scheduled on December 30 at a capacity of two lakh tonnes of hot metal per month, an official said here on Thursday. "The arrangement with JSPL will ensure availability of about Rs 800 -900 crore for RINL in the form of working capital advance and raw materials required for consistent operation of BF - 3, against which RINL will be supplying about 90,000 tonnes of cast blooms every month from Steel Melting Shop-2 (SMS-2) of RINL," said Vizag Steel Plant's chairman and managing director (CMD) Atul Bhatt in a meeting with the trade unions. According to Bhatt, the arrangement with the New Delhi-headquartered JS

Vizag Steel Plant logs highest monthly sales of value-added steel in Aug

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) or Vizag Steel Plant logged its best ever monthly sales of value-added steel products in August since inception at 1.57 lakh tonne, said an official on Saturday. In August, the steel plant sold 99,000 tonne of rounds (steel variety), which is the best ever sales milestone for this variety, and also logged similar performances in the sale of wire rod coils (79,000 tonne), rebars (2 lakh tonne) and structurals (46,000 tonne). "The sales volume of 1,57,000 tonne of value-added steel achieved in August 2023 by RINL is the best ever monthly sales of value-added steel sales for any month since inception," said the official in a press release. Including value-added steel products, Vizag Steel Plant achieved overall sales of Rs 2,502 crore in August 2023, which is 39 per cent higher than Rs 1,806 crore logged in the corresponding period last year. Besides August highlights, the steel plant located in the port city of Visakhapatnam achieved the highest ...

No freeze on disinvestment process of state-owned RINL: Steel Ministry

There is no freeze on the disinvestment process of RINL, the Steel Ministry clarified on Friday. Clarifying some media reports regarding the hold on the disinvestment process of the state-owned steel maker, the ministry, in a statement, said that the disinvestment process of RINL is in progress. "There is no freeze on the disinvestment process of RINL," the statement said. However, efforts are being made by the company to improve the performance of RINL, it added. Under the Ministry of Steel, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam owns and operates a steel plant with an annual capacity of about 7 million tonnes (MT) located at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. RINL's Vizag steel plant is the country's first shore-based plant where the company manufactures various special products. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on January 27, 2021, gave its 'in-principle' approval for 100 per cent disinvestment of the government stake in RINL, also called Visakhapatnam Steel Plant or Vizag Steel

Centre to strengthen Vizag Steel Plant rather than privatising it: Kulaste

The Central government will focus on strengthening the Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) for the moment rather than privatising it, Union Minister of State for Steel, Faggan Singh Kulaste said here on Thursday. He made this announcement on the sidelines of handing over appointment letters under Rozgar Mela. "As on date, we don't have any plan like that (sale) and in the coming days we will do better, including sorting out some problems with mining," Kulaste said while speaking to reporters in the port city. Meanwhile, some employee union leaders of the steel plant noted that they cannot believe Kulaste's statements unless an authoritative announcement is made by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to this effect. "We do not believe this announcement completely. It was CCEA which decided to sell VSP and it should announce that they are not selling it," said an union leader. "We have been protesting the privatisation plan for the past 800 days. This movement is being supported by

RINL seeks proposals to fund working capital in exchange for steel supply

In a first, state-owned Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is exploring a business model wherein it will supply finished steel products to companies which will either fund its working capital or supply one or more raw materials. RINL has invited expressions of interest from companies which have interests in steel and steel-making raw materials to partner with it for the supply of steel. In the notice, RINL said that the potential partner may participate by way of supplying one or more key raw materials like coking coal /BF coke, iron ore, and in turn take steel products as per mutually agreed terms and conditions. The potential partner may fund working capital and in turn, take steel products as per mutually agreed terms and conditions. The notice stated that the interested party must be in the business of steel making or raw materials used in the manufacturing of steel. The last date to submit the EOIs is April 15, 2023. The EOIs will be accepted through both physical and online ...

Protesters against VSP privatisation held during PM's visit to Vizag

VUPCC, which is spearheading the movement against the Centre's move to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), has called for protests during the Prime Minister's visit

French mineral firm Imerys plans to ramp up Vizag plant production

Will increase calcium aluminates capacity by 2030 to about 50,000 tonnes from 30,000 tonnes currently in line with India's target of achieving a 300 million tonne crude steel capacity

Govt invites bids from firms for valuing assets of privatisation-bound RINL

The last date for putting bids is April 4.

Trade unions and political parties oppose privatisation of RINL

: Hundreds of employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Friday took out a protest rally against the proposed divestment of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of the steel- maker. The parties, including the ruling YSR Congress, supported the agitation. The protestors demanded that the Centre withdraw its proposal and save the steel plant as it is one of the biggest and profitablepublic sector undertakings in the state. The Union Cabinet had cleared the privatisation of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), DIPAM (Department of Investment & Public Asset Management) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted on February 3. The RINL strategic sale proceeds would be part of the disinvestment target for next fiscal. The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment in 2021-22 fiscal beginning April 1. "The CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) had, on January 27, 2021, given in-principle approval for 100% strategic disinvestment of the

Vizag Steel, KIOCL to set up pellet plant in Visakhapatnam

The initial capacity of the proposed pellet plant will be 1.2 million tonnes per annum

Vizag Steel's 9-month sales turnover up 30% at Rs 114 bn

The company sales volume touched 1 million tonnes worth of Rs 20 billion just in November and December

Captive mine remains a pipe dream for Vizag Steel

Hyderabad, 6 August: Vizag Steel Plant, the only steel manufacturing facility among the public sector(PSU) steel plants that has no captive iron ore mine, sees little chances of getting one under the present auction route owing to unmatched competition from private players.Established in port city of Visakhapatnam about 35 years ago, this Navaratna steel plant has been running on iron ore supplies from NMDC from the beginning. While there were no clear reasons as to why this PSU steel unit was not allocated a captive mine all these years, the effort to secure a mine in a recent auction in Odisha made its management realise that the task has only become tougher."We have participated in a recent auction for a mine in Odisha in the hope of putting a good show. But private steel maker Bhushan Steel has quoted a price 300 percent higher than what we were willing to pay for the mine. We can not compete with private companies as we are constrained by our own assessment of economic viability .

Vizag Steel Plant registers 4% revenue growth to Rs 12,781 crore

Completes expansion to 6.3 mt from 3 mt, this year's production is expected to touch full capacity

Branded trains now: Vizag Steel renames Samata Express for brand promotion

Steel Minister Birender Singh said such initiatives will help Vizag Steel extend its market reach to both urban, rural markets