The company plans to reach 15 million tonne per annum capacity by 2010, which increases a requirement for coal the company’s current captive resources cannot fulfill.
The company recently entered into a joint venture agreement with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to set up a coke oven plant at Haldia with an annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes of coke.
"We will require additional coal resources for this plant. It is likely that a part of the coke produced will be exported. However, primarily the output will be for captive consumption," a senior company executive told Business Standard.
A capacity expansion at Jamshedpur is underway to lift capacity to 5Mt per annum. The company has outlined another expansion project of 2.4 million tonne, expected to be commissioned by 2007-08.
The company has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa government to set up a 6Mt steel plant. In addition, the company is also building a sea port at Dhamra in Orissa, along with Larsen & Toubro.
