PTI cited a senior company official as saying that Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, the corporate entity of Vizag Steel, is mulling setting up of a cement plant as part of its plans to dispose byproducts such as slag and fly ash.
RINL may also enter into a long term contract to supply these byproducts to prevent their accumulation that can lead to environmental issues.
The official said that "We may enter into a joint venture partnership for setting up a cement plant."
The official added that "Fly ash, a byproduct from our power plant, is getting accumulated which may create environmental issue in future. We may also enter long term agreement for supplying these products. There will be clarity in few days."
Official said that "For the cement plant, we may require land from the government which is again a process involving Cabinet decisions and other procedures. The total cost for setting up cement plant is estimated to be around INR 1,000 crore. It is still in premature stages."
The setting up of a cement plant has become urgent in view of the capacity expansion of RINL from 3 million tonnes to 6.3 million tonnes. It has ambitious plans to take up further expansion to 16 million tonnes by 2020.
According to the official, the steel plant produces around 1.8 million tonnes of slag every year.
