MOIL plans INR 600 crore ferroalloy plant in Bhilai.

Times of India reported that PSU Manganese Ore India Limited is planning to forge a three way joint venture with Steel Authority of India Limited and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited to set up a ferroalloys plant at an investment of over INR 600 crore at Bhilai in Chhattisgarh state. A source in the ministry of steel said that "Originally, there were plans to strike a separate JV with SAIL and RINL, with a plant each at Bhilai and Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra plant could not take off due to the power crisis in the state. At the same time, suitable bids did not come in for the Bhilai venture. Now, it has been finally decided to have a common plant at Bhilai, where SAIL has its unit." A source said that the plant will have a capacity of 150,000 tonne per annum. This will be advantageous to both MOIL and the steel makers. The former will get an assured market while the latter will get an assured supply of ferroalloys an essential ingredient in steel making. The source said that earlier, MOIL planned to have 50% stake in each of the JVs. Now, the modalities are still being worked out but a part of the project will be funded with debt.