Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) is planning to set up a greenfield cement manufacturing plant with a capacity of 6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) in Vishakhapatnam. The unit will be built through a joint venture route at an estimated investment of Rs 3,000 crore. RINL is in the process of floating a global tender inviting expression of interests (EoIs) from companies having expertise and experience to be roped in as the partner for entering into the business.
The plan to venture into the cement business is aimed at proper utilisation of by-products such as fly ash and slag from its 2.9 mtpa steel plant. Almost all the 1.2 mtpa slag produced in the plant is now sold to the local cement manufactures, while fly ash is mostly used for earth-filling.
The company is also enhancing the capacity of the plant to 6.3 mtpa, which is likely to be completed next year. This would mean more slag and fly ash production. RINL wants to limit its role in the venture as a minority partner while awarding the majority stake to the proposed partner. This makes sense since the company does not have the necessary experience and exposure to run a cement plant.