Indian state-run steel producer Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has decided to set up a new rail mill entailing an investment of around $800 million, SAIL chairman Amarendu Prakash said in a statement on Thursday, February 27.
Mr. Prakash, however, did not disclose the location of the proposed rail mill. Industry insiders said that the new mill could most likely be located at SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) which already operates a 2 million mt per year universal rail mill (URM), one the largest rail producing units in the country.
Prakash said that SAIL was going ahead with its rail making investment plan despite not having any firm indication of orders from its largest buyer, the national transporter Indian Railways (IR).
“I am confident that railways will go nowhere and they will have to buy from me if I put up a mill. So, I have taken a decision like that. So, that is the kind of confidence that comes when the policies we know are growth-oriented, and they are bound to continue," he said.
Prakash said SAIL has been following up with IR for the past seven years regarding their future demand, so accordingly the steelmaker can plan rail production.
