PM urged to allot captive iron ore mines to VSP: Minister

Visakhapatnam, Feb 21 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Mines T Subbarami Reddy has said that he had impressed on the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the need for allotment of captive iron ore mines to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).

Speaking at the valedictory function of silver jubilee celebrations of VSP here yesterday, he said "I along with other MPs from the region have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him to grant captive iron mines to VSP to reduce its production cost." He said the VSP had a big role to play in booming Indian economy.

"There is a need to produce more steel and the VSP has embarked on an expansion mode." Andhra Pradesh Commercial Taxes Minister K Ramakrishna, present on the occasion, said the government would provide all help for developing a satellite township for the employees of the VSP.

VSP Chairman and Managing Director Y Siva Sagar Rao said they had obtained the sanction to expand the present capacity to 8.5 million tonnes.

The capacity would go up to 16 million tonnes by 2018 with a total investment of Rs 25,000 crore, he added.

UNI