State-owned steel maker SAIL has started working on plans to expand its installed capacity by 15 million tonnes (mt) in the first phase, the company’s chairman Amarendu Prakash said.

Its current installed steel-making capacity is about 20 million tonnes per annum, Prakash said.

“It has been kicked off. In the first phase, we are expanding it to 35mt. So, phase 1 is of 15mt,” the chairman said in a reply to a question on SAIL’s expansion plans.

On the timeline and investment amount involved in the expansion plan, he said the company is actively working on detailed project reports (DPRs) and sharing any number will be a difficult task at present.

When asked about the funding model, Prakash said SAIL will use its own funds and also seek market support to fund the expansion.

“It (the funding) will be a mix of both internal accruals and market. The steel industry is a huge capex-intensive industry. So, we will be in the market for funds,” he noted.

The company will not only expand its installed steel-making capacity but also set up new technologies and develop logistics infrastructure for the movement of raw materials and finished products, the top official said.

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), under the ministry of steel, has five integrated and three special steel plants across various locations in the country.

PTI