In order to overcome growing demand of  quality coking coal, a vital input in the steel making, the steel ministry has been looking for joint venture partners for tapping coking coal mines both India and abroad, Union steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan said here on Friday.

“Demand for coking coal has been fast growing across the country for hiking production of steel, but we don’t have adequate stock of the same in India. Hence, we’re in the lookout for JV partners to tap coal assets abroad,” Paswan told newspersons here during an interaction.

The ministry has already floated a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) comprising five elite PSUs – NTPC, Coal India Ltd, SAIL, RINL & National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) - to scout for coal mines abroad and the SPV received special sanction of the union cabinet to begin operation.

Having set an ambitious target of taking the steel production in the state-owned plants from the existing 30 million tones to 50 in the next three years at an estimated investment of Rs 50,000 crore, the ministry, Paswan pointed out, has been facing another hurdle – that of iron ore.

New capacity

Paswan was here to lay the foundation for modernisation and capacity expansion of Rourkela Steel Plant to 4.5 mt per annum from the existing level of 2 mt at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore.

The entire expansion project is scheduled to take three years from the date of commissioning the actual work.

However, like Jharkhand, uncertainty regarding renewal of lease of mining iron ore at Taldih with the Orissa government, has still  been clouding the project. 

“Orissa has a reserve of 60 million tones of iron ore and I appeal to Chief Minister Navin Patnaik to renew the iron ore agreement with SAIL,” Paswan later observed at the foundation laying function.

Patnaik who was also present, stated that he already had a meeting with the Prime Minister on the issue of royalty against iron ore mining from the state and it is evident that differences are yet to be ironed out.

RSP which clocked a net profit of Rs 1360 crore in 2006-07 after several years of loss, is likely to take the net to Rs 1,500 crore in the current fiscal, Paswan said and announced a Rs 2000 cash award for each of the 20,000 strong workforce.