Visa Steel to invest Rs 4,500 cr to set up steel plant in Orissa

Kolkata, Jun 18 (UNI) Visa Steel Limited(VSL) has chalked out mega investment of Rs 4,500 crore to set up a 1.5 Million Tonne Per Annum (MTPA) capacity steel plant at Kalinganagar in Orissa.

The first phase of the project, which includes a special stainless steel plant with a capacity of 0.5 MTPA, would be completed by the end of next year.

''The company is also setting up a 50,000 TPA Ferro Chrome plant, 3 lakh TPA sponge iron plant and a 50 MW power plant. This including the steel plant will entail an investment of Rs 1800 crore,'' VSL Chairman Vishambhar Saran told mediapersons here today.

The first phase would also consist of 2.25 TPA pig iron plant, 4 lakh TPA coke oven plant.

He said the company is also scouting for land in Chattisgarh to set up another special steel manufacturing unit in an area of 600 acres. The respective state government has already hand overed 160 acres while the rest was yet to be acquired.

Visa Steel would sign an MoU with the Chattisgarh government to set up this 0.35 MTPA plant after completion of the Kalinganagar facility, he said.

''We are also negotiating with the Jharkhand government to set up another minor steel plant there,'' he added.

The company has applied for coal and mine blocks in order to integrate backward linkages.

The company has reported a net profit of Rs 20.52 crore in 2006-07 compared to Rs 12.48 crore in the previous year, a growth of 64 per cent. However, net profit in the last quarter of the last fiscal slipped to Rs 2.2 crore compared to Rs 6.5 in the corresponding period in 2005-06.

UNI