As per revised timelines, Indian state-run miner NMDC will commence the demerger of its greenfield steel mills project and its subsequent disinvestment only after commencing commercial production around August this year following the monsoon season, company sources said on Tuesday, February 23.
According to the sources, the 3 million mt per year greenfield steel mill project located in the central state of Chhattisgarh has suffered several time overruns and as per the new schedule commercial production will begin around August 2021.
Thereafter, the steel mill will be demerged into a separate corporate entity which will be a government-mandated precursor to the final privatization of the steel mill which will be put up for sale to private investors only in the next fiscal year.
In October 2020, the Indian government sought disinvestment of the steel mill project by NMDC Limited and the company followed this up with approval from its board of directors.
The sources said that, with the steel industry bouncing back from the impact of the pandemic and several global steel majors eyeing to set up a base in India, NMDC’s steel mill is expected to fetch the government’s valuations as it will offer a global or domestic investor opportunities to expand its base through the brownfield expansion of a new steel mill.