Faced with the imminent closure of its operations, Indian government-run steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has sought the immediate intervention of the state government of Andhra Pradesh and the release of critical raw materials like coking coal and limestone stuck at Gangavaram port, steel industry sources said on Thursday, May 9.
It has been learned that coking coal and limestone valued at around INR 7 billion ($83.8 million) are stuck at the Adani Group-operated Gangavaram port following industrial action by port workers.
In a letter to the state administration, RINL chairman and managing director Atul Bhatt said that the steel mill’s operation is in a highly critical position due to lack of the most essential raw material, coking coal, which has been stuck at Gangavaram port since April 12 this year due to agitation by workers.
“It is a matter of great concern that the court orders for transportation of coal to RINL through the conveyor belt system or otherwise, forthwith, are still to be implemented,” Bhatt said in the letter.
“The impasse in the matter, extending nearly for a month, is posing a severe threat to the health of the equipment and also the financial health of the company,” he said, adding that the company is unable to meet even statutory payment obligations.
RINL operates a 7.3 million mt per year capacity steel mill in the southern port town of Vishakhapatnam comprising three blast furnaces. However, the company for over the past several months has been operating only two blast furnaces, faced with a shortage of the working capital required to procure raw materials.
