Goa IPB grants approval to Vedanta's expansion proposals 

Panaji, Jan 22: Goa Investment Promotion Board (GIPB) has granted in-principle approval to various proposals by Vedanta Limited for expansion of existing capacities at its pig iron plant (PIP).

The company had put up a proposal for enhancement of its pig iron, coke, sinter and power plant at Navelim village, about 30 km from here, a senior GIPB member told PTI. The company has sought expansion of its pig iron capacity by 0.45 MTPA from existing 0.74 TPA.

When commissioned, the company will achieve additional 61 per cent increase in the pig iron capacity of the plant at its existing facility, he said. GIPB, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, last evening granted approval to various proposals by Vedanta along with several other projects, including starred hotels and industrial expansions.

Vedanta has also proposed the expansion of sinter plant at its PIP facility to cater to the requirement of sinter feed for the new blast furnaces which will result in 50 per cent of capacity increase.

The company also plans to increase its power generation by 30 MW capacity (addition of 33 per cent to existing capacity) after expansion of non-recovery coke oven plant which is a raw material to generate electricity, the official said.

In another proposal, Vedanta has also sought an in-principle approval for diversification of operations by installing 0.3 MTPA ductile iron pipe plant at the existing location at Navelim. The plant will use inputs from the existing pig iron production capacity to create high value output and spur future growth.

According to the company, there will not be any increase in hot metal production, the official said. Only 3,00,000 tonnes of hot metal shall be converted to ductile iron pipe. The proposed investment in this project is worth Rs 445 crore with employment capacity of 300 people.

PTI