SAIL to take over Idcol ferro-chrome unit in Orissa
DILIP BISOI

Posted online: Saturday, November 05, 2005 at 0031 hours IST


BHUBANESWAR, NOV 4: The public sector steel major, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), is planning to take over Orissa government-owned Idcol Ferro Alloys Corp.

Talks between SAIL and the state government are at an advanced stage.

"We are in talks with SAIL for the handing over of the unit," state industries minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan told FE. He said the state government has taken a strategic decision to start a joint venture with a public sector company.

Established in 1969 on 369 acre, the unit is having a submerged ARC melting furnace (9mva) with capacity of 12000 tonne of high carbon ferro-chrome and an open ARC melting furnace (6.5mva) with capacity of 8000 tonne of low carbon ferro-chrome.

The unit is linked with the captive chromite mines at Tailangi in the Sukinda area which promise an estimated 63.40 lakh tonne high grade ore. It also has a captive power plant of 9.5mw besides a contract demand with Gridco for supply of 9500kva.

The state government was earlier proposing to privatise the unit by offloading maximum equity holding and management control to a private company.



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