Orissa Mineral Development Corporation and Bisra Stone Lime Co, two of the five Bird Group of Companies under the steel ministry, will invest INR 1,000 crore to set up a pelletisation and a cement plant respectively, besides upgrading their existing facilities.

Mr P K Rastogi Steel Secretary said that “In the Bird Group of Companies, two companies, OMDC and BSLC have modernization and upgradation plans. They will be making sufficient investments to the tune of INR 1,000 crore to achieve forward integration in terms of pelletization, sponge iron and cement plant.”

Mr Rastogi did not give a time frame for these investments.

It is understood that the plants would come up in a phased manner by 2012 at their existing sites.

OMDC which has estimated iron ore reserves of 200 million tonnes, will set up a 1 million tonne per annum pelletization plant to convert the ores into pellets, used in making steel. The plant would cost OMDC about INR 900 crore. It will expand its capacity to produce sponge iron from 10,000,000 tonne to 30,000,000 tonne.

Mr Rastogi said that OMDC also plans to set up a ferroalloy and ferromanganese plant as it has manganese reserves of about 44 million tones.

BSLC will set up a 1 million tonne per annum cement plant as it has limestone reserves of 367 million tonnes and dolomite of about 280 million tonnes.

Mr Rastogi added that the forward integration plans of the two firms as a whole will benefit from the managerial expertise of its new parent Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.

(Sourced from livemint.com)