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The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday informed the Legislative Assembly that there was no proposal to privatise the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), and said a structured revival package was under active implementation.
The question was raised by YSRCP MLAs Matsyarasa Visweswara Raju, Tatiparthi Chandra Sekhar and Buchepalli Siva Prasad Reddy during the Question Gour. As the members were not present, the answer was deemed answwered.
Industries & Commerce Minister T.G. Bharat denied reports of privatisation due to mounting losses. Citing inputs from RINL, the government said the company expanded capacity to 6.3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquid steel between 2005–06 and 2014–15, and later enhanced it to 7.3 MTPA by 2017–18 through modernisation.
However, the expansion coincided with a global steel downturn, resulting in losses from 2015–16 onwards, except in 2018–19 and 2021–22. Depreciation and interest costs surged from ₹705 crore in 2014–15 to ₹3,460 crore in 2023–24 due to capitalisation of projects, without a matching increase in production.
Financial stress also hampered raw material procurement, restricting operations to two blast furnaces from February 2022, except for a brief revival in early 2024. External factors such as Hudhud cyclone, Chinese steel dumping, sectoral slowdown, COVID-19 disruptions, coal shortages, export duties and the Adani Port strike further impacted performance, the Minister said.
On revival, the government said the Union Cabinet approved an ₹11,440-crore package on January 16, 2025, with phased fund releases, while the final tranche of ₹796 crore was awaited.
The State also supported the conversion of ₹2,400 crore power dues to Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited into preferential share capital. It deployed APSPF personnel free of cost, reaffirming continued coordination with the Centre for the plant’s long-term viability.
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