Indian state-run steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has floated an expression of interest (EoI) seeking bids from parties willing to undertake the operation of its steel forged wheel manufacturing plant which is nearing completion, company sources said on Monday, September 19.
The sources said that such a merchant operator will be expected to take charge of total operations of forging, heat treatment, machining, wheel testing, storing and maintenance of the entire unit located at Raebareli in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Bid from prospective operators will be accepted until October 30, 2022, the sources said.
RINL had started construction of the wheel manufacturing unit with an annual capacity of 100,000 units but, despite years of time and cost overrun, is yet to commence commercial production with unconfirmed reports suggesting the unit has just started trial runs.
The unit will source its basic input-continuous cast rounds (CCR) from RINL steel mill located in the southern Indian port town of Vishakhapatnam.