NMDC lines up 6,500 cr capex

Hyderabad: Public sector National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) on Wednesday announced its plans to invest nearly Rs 6,500 crore in financial year 2019 and 2020 towards capex.

The city-based miner is gearing up to commence production from its upcoming 3-million tonnes per annum capacity steel plant at Nagarnar Chhattisgarh in FY20.

"Last year, we invested Rs 2,800 on capex. This year, we will be investing Rs 3,185 crore, followed by Rs 3,290 crore in FY20," Baijendra Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC, told the media on the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) here.

On the commencement of production from the steel plant, he said the Coke Oven would be lit on Thursday and the Blast Furnace would start in another three months.

"After starting the Blast Furnace, we will make pig casting machine. By May or June 2019, we are planning to start the first coil. Within one year from that time we will ramp up the production to three million tonnes per annum capacity," he said.

According to him, NMDC has spent Rs 14,182 crore so far on the steel plant. On the production targets for the current year, he said though the iron ore production was hit due to heavy rains at Bailadilla mines during the current fiscal, they aim to make it up to 36 or 37 million tonnes during the second half of the year.

NMDC aims to increase the iron ore production to 67 million tonnes per annum By 2021-22. In order to achieve the target they are ramping up the production from the existing mines and also looking to open up new ones.

To ramp up the production capacity, NMDC is setting up two screening plants one at Bailadilla with 12 MTPA and another one at Donimalai in Karnataka with 7 MTPA, the NMDC chief said. NMDC is also developing an intermediate stockpile to accommodate about 0.5 million tonnes of iron ore at Kumaramaranga in Chhattisgarh which is likely to come up during the current fiscal.

It would facilitate uninterrupted dispatches during night movement restrictions from Bailadilla, he said during his speech at the AGM. To a query on the iron ore imports, he said NMD requested the Centre to take measures such as increasing the import duty on the ore to safeguard domestic interests.