India: SAIL, BHEL to team up for making high-grade steel

Thursday, September 23,

The Heavy Industries Ministry is floating a tripartite joint venture with two public sector units and a foreign collaborator to manufacture cold-rolled grain-oriented (CRGO) steel.

The high-grade steel used in the manufacture of power equipment is currently imported.

While the MoU between BHEL and SAIL is expected to be signed in a week, the choice of the foreign technical partner is still being finalised. Korean firm Posco is expected to be the front-runner for this position.

 “With power equipment manufacturers having huge orders, the need for domestic CRGO steel capacity is urgent. We may build a new plant for this, for which we will use 300-400 acres from SAIL’s existing facilities. The investment in a new production facility will be around Rs 8,000 crore,” said Mr B. S. Meena, Secretary, Heavy Industries.