Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limted (RINL), the corporate arm of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, has and the Natioan Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will form an equal joint venture to set up a 150 MW captive power plant at Visakhapatnam to meet RINL''s power requirement.

The 50:50 JV, to be called NTPC-RINL Power Company Ltd, will be under management control of NTPC, which will also nominate its chairman. The proposed joint venture will supply power to RINL, which is currently undertaking an expansion programme that will take its capacity to 6.3 million tonnes.

The steel plant currently operates at 120 per cent of the rated capacity with 3.6 million tonnes of liquid steel annually and is expected to touch 6.3 million tonnes by 2008 and 16 million tonnes by 2017-18.

RINL''s expected demand for power when the plant reaches 6.3 million tonnes capacity has been estimated at 418 MW, with the generation of 226 MW of power at present meeting its current requirement meets its present requirement.

The power generation from the proposed gas turbine combined cycle power project unit will augment the power supply by 150 MW. The gas turbine technology is environment friendly and more efficient in terms of power generation and uses the latest available low calorific value lean gases and envisages utilising the surplus gas available at the steel plant.

NTPC has also signed an MoU with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for development of "automated boiler tube inspection system in coal based thermal power plants". The collaboration will help the company to build competency in new technology development for inspection of boiler tubes. The MoU also provides for future multiplication of such systems for which all necessary help will be extended by BARC, NTPC said in a separate filing with the BSE.