Speaking at the Global Business Summit (GBS) in the capital, Prakash stated that they took the investment decision despite the lack of an official order guarantee from the Indian Railways. “Last week, we decided to invest USD 800 million in a new rail mill because we know that the railroads will continue to need rail and when we build such a plant they will have to buy it from us,” he said.
India's Steel Capacity Expected to Increase
Prakash also said that India is expected to exceed the 300 million tons (MT) steel production capacity target by 2030, thanks to strong demand. Stating that this target did not seem realistic when the Indian National Steel Policy was announced in 2017, Prakash said, “At that time, we were only at 80 million tons and we thought it was not possible to reach this target. But today, we are planning to reach 330 million tons of capacity by 2030.”
Pointing to the growth rate of the Indian steel sector, Prakash emphasized that the sector grew by 14% last year, compared to GDP growth of 6.5% to 7%, and in the first 10 months of this year, an increase of 11% was recorded.
Order Uncertainty with Railways
The SAIL President said that the company has been in touch with the Indian Railways for the last seven years and has been trying to shape its rail production plans accordingly. “We have repeatedly asked, 'How much rail will you buy from us? Should we invest in a new mill?' But they have not given any guarantee on how much they will buy in the future,” Prakash said.
SAIL continues to invest in increasing its steel production in India, producing rails at its Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh. The company also produces forged wheels at its Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) in West Bengal.
Stating that the growth-oriented policies of the Indian government have instilled confidence in the sector, Prakash said that the steel industry will continue on its way with this momentum.
Comments
No comment yet.