Centre to take a call on Bayyaram steel plant soon

Hyderabad: Stage set for three plants in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The feasibility report on much-talked Bayyaram steel plant in Mahabubabad district will be ready in a month, according to Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, who on Friday further said a 1.5 million tonne (MT) per annum Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) plant will come up at Paloncha in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

Giving details about a proposed steel plant in AP, the minister said Sail and Arcelor Miital may finalise a joint venture (JV) for setting up a high strength special steel unit in YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

Thanking the Centre for the positive move, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao said: “The Centre will re-open the factory at Paloncha. We also request the Centre to set up steel factory at Bayyaram. Some say there’s transportation problem for the proposed steel plant.

Iron ore and coal are being transported from a distance of 450 km to serve the Vizag Steel Plant. Chhattisgarh-Bailadila railway line can be utilised for the steel plant. Hence, there wouldn’t be any problem to transport iron ore from NMDC Bailadila mine, which is just 155 km from Bayyaram.

I expect good news on steel plant from the Centre in January.” The steel scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace project will come up at the sick sponge iron plant. The new project will be set up over 450 acres.

“Considering the availability of land and other resources at Paloncha, Ministry of Steel will set up a modern state-of-the-art Electric Arc Furnace plant of 1.5 million tonne (MT) per annum capacity after the techno economic feasibility is established.

State-run miner NMDC has been asked to conduct a detailed study in this regard. We are open to take up the EAF plant through JV with Telangana government or through PPP mode,” the Minister told the media here.

According to the minister, NMDC will provide the iron ore linkages, while Telangana state government facilitating the railway line for supply of iron ore from NMDC mines and coal from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd for setting up a steel plant in Telangana.

With regard to setting up of proposed integrated steel plants in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh and Khammam district of Telangana, as per assurance made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act-2014, Singh said a meeting of the re-constituted task force was held in November to check its feasibility.

“A final report on the feasibility of the steel plants at Bayyaram in Telangana and YSR Kadapa district in AP, is likely to be submitted by Mecon, which has been engaged to do final feasibility study,” said the Steel Minister.

However, the volume of investments is yet to be finalised. “The electric arc furnace project is likely to see an investment of about Rs9,000 cr and the AP project an outlay of Rs15,000 cr,” said Singh. A joint venture between Sail and ArcelorMittal to produce high-end automotive steel will be signed soon.

"There are two offers which have come from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh governments for the site of the plant. Keeping in view the Eastern Coast (Andhra Pradesh) it has been thought that this (Andhra Pradesh) would be a better site to set up this JV plant," said the Steel Minister. he proposed auto-grade steel plant, with a capacity of 1.5 million tonne per annum, which can be scaled up to 2.5 MT, is Rs 15,000 crore project.