Govt may set up two steel units to handle scrap
The government is thinking of setting up at least two integrated plants for processing of scrap steel, one in north India and one in the south, in partnership with the private sector. About seven million tonnes (mt) of scrap is imported every year, besde the 28 mt generated in the country. A senior steel ministry official said import was likely to increase to nine mt in 2022 and 11 mt in 2025.
“The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) is preparing a blueprint for this policy and we are also contributing. It might take a fortnight to two months for the note to go to the Cabinet for approval. Once their policy on vehicle scrapping is finalised, they would ask us to formulate our policy on steel,” Union minister of steel Birender Singh told Business Standard.
His ministry, he said, would be putting up the integrated steel plants after the vehicle scrapping policy is finalised. These plants would enable production of high quality steel. “Shredding plants would also be set up. One such plant has been set up by MSTC in Noida. We would require at least 50 shredding plants across the country. We are thinking of having two plants — one in northern India . Seventy per cent of the import comes on the ports of western India. We would welcome anyone coming with technology to set up these plants.”
MoRTH is likely to announce a vehicle scrapping policy for commercial vehicles on October 2. At present, 700,000 vehicles are scrapped annually, after they reach the legal end-of-life in 20 years. Seventy per cent of this is steel scrap. Availability is expected to increase drastically, with 22 million vehicles now more than 20 years old. The scrap policy will reduce dependence on import, beside ensuring that fresh steel demand is met through recycling rather than additional natural resources, leading to lesser environmental damage. Also, older vehicles do not conform to new emission norms. The international scrap recycling industry is worth over $500 billion, directly employing at least 1.6 million people and handling 600 mt of re-cycleables every year, business chamber Ficci has estimated.