Reported by Sandeep Pattnaik
Bhubaneswar, Jan 26:

Odisha’s leading pig-iron maker Mideast Integrated Steels Ltd (MISL) is all set to convert it into a fully integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district, CMD Rita Singh told OST on Sunday.

The board of the company has given its approval for expansion of its existing pig-iron plant to an integrated steel plant, for which it is going to raise its capacity from 1.2 MTPA to 3.50 MTPA in two phases.

Rita Singh, CMD, MISL Rita Singh, CMD Mesco Group

“In the first phase, about 2.5 MTPA capacity expansion will be made and the rest 1 MTPA in the second phase,” Mrs Singh said adding, “the capacity addition is subject to getting environmental and forest clearance.”

“The state government has already recommended the grant of environment clearance after successful completion of public hearing at Kalinganagar and it is under the process at Union MoEF,” she said.

“The company has a plan to fund the capacity expansion through External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) route to the tune of US 400 million dollar in future,” the Mesco group CMD said.

“Besides, MISL has started the process for raising the working capital to feed its day-to-day operations for which it is in the process of getting a suitable rating by an approved credit rating agency,” Mrs Singh said.

The flagship company of Mesco Steel Group, Mideast Integrated Steels Ltd (MISL), has achieved a total sales of Rs 590.46 crore in the first nine months of the current financial year, which is a record.

In the third quarter (Oct-Dec 2013), the company achieved total sales of Rs 200.38 crore, which is 22% higher than the sales made in the same quarter last year.

Similarly, it has achieved a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of around Rs. 55 crore in the third quarter ended December 2013, which is over 650% higher than that posted in the same quarter in the previous year.

“Maintaining this momentum the company is all set to achieve an all-time record turnover and profit in the current financial year,” the CMD added.

MISL is also scouting for acquisition of some steel companies in Odisha, those are in distress due to mismatch of facilities, raw material supply constraints and management issues together with high debts.

“Such an acquisition will be done only if there is strong case for creating value for the company,” she said.

She also informed that the capacity of the private railway siding is being increased from 6.0 MTPA to 9.20 MTPA from the company's internal resources.

In addition an Oxygen Plant, Pulverized Coal Injection Unit and Bell-Less top Charging system for the blast furnaces are also being added to increase the efficiency and cut operating costs. Most of this major capital investment is being planned from the internal resources of the company, she said.

In order to fully utilize the slag generated from the blast furnaces, a slag cement plant of 1.0 MTPA is also being implemented in the Steel Plant. This will fully utilize the slag from the existing blast furnaces and also the third blast furnace, which would be commissioned as part of the expansion.

MISL is implementing a power plant of 120 MW in Chindwara, MP and shortly commencing production of Limestone and Dolomite in MP for its own consumption.

“All of this will add to the profitability of the company in future,” Mrs Singh revealed to OST.

In view of the long delays in obtaining forest and environment clearances for industrial projects and uncertain regulatory framework in the country, Mesco Steel has decided to focus on acquiring mineral assets overseas.

“Several proposals mostly Gold, Copper, Manganese and Coking Coal are under consideration and announcements of the deals will be made at due time,” the CMD informed.