NEW DELHI: The Union Minister for Steel, Chemicals & Fertlisers, Ram Vilas Paswan, on Tuesday exhorted the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to expedite execution of its modernisation and expansion plans to meet the growing demand for steel.

In an interaction here with members of the SAIL board, Mr. Paswan cited the example of global steel majors to emphasise that SAIL's growth plan should be completed within three years instead of the earlier schedule of five years. The Minister asked the board members to take all steps to make the company strong enough to withstand any storms in future and build it as a leading enterprise internationally.

In particular, Mr. Paswan asked the SAIL management to opt for the best and proven technology globally and make no compromise while implementing its modernisation and expansion plans. There should be R&D application specific to the country's requirement such as utilisation of low-grade coal.

He also advised the SAIL board to move fast and tie-up supplies of coking coal and speed up the expansion of its distribution network.

Earlier in the day, the SAIL board accorded approval to three new projects costing Rs. 350 crore as part of its ongoing efforts to speed up execution of the modernisation and expansion programmes.

The three projects include re-building of a coke oven battery at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) at an investment of Rs. 176 crore and installation of a computerised process system for the second steel melting shop at Bokaro with an outlay of Rs. 31 crore. The third project pertains to the installation of a substation and transmission network (Rs. 141 crore) for evacuation of 280 MW of power from a new power plant at Bhilai.

As of date, projects involving an investment of around Rs. 17,300 crore are under various stages of implementation. Among SAIL's major projects is the Rs. 1,553 crore expansion plan for the Salem steel plant.

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