Vedanta to focus on long products

Vedanta, the newest player in the integrated steel business, plans to focus on long products and ductile iron items for its brownfield expansion of 5 million tonne.

It would further enhance facilities for high carbon electrical steel and other valueadded products.

“In the first phase, we are working to build capacity to 3 million tonne (capacity from 1.5 million tonne now) and have invested ~3,000 crore for it. In the second phase, we will be taking the capacity to 5 million tonne,” Sauvick Mazumdar, chief executive officer (CEO) of iron and steel business, Vedantad, said.

The Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta already has an integrated greenfield facility of 1.5 million tonne steel capacity in Bokaro, Jharkhand. The two-phase expansion is to be completed within twothree years.

Vedanta forayed into the steel business with acquisition of Electrosteel Steels in 2018 via the National Company Law Tribunal platform.

On the financial arrangement to go to 5 million tonne, Mazumdar said the current focus is on augmenting capacities and arranging finance would not be a problem given the multi-commodity business Vedanta Group is.

Typically, it takes 4,0005,000 crore to set up a one million tonne steel unit.

“At our steel plant, we will be focusing on long products and ductile iron products. Going forward, we will then look at high carbon, electrical steel and further valueadded products of the commodity,” said Mazumdar.

A relatively new entrant in the steel sector, Vedanta is competing with Tata Steel along with Jindal Steel & Power, which has presence in long products, and with state-owned Steel Authority of India.

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel and AM/NS India are other two large primary steel producers in the country.