SAIL sets up Rs200 crore JV with Burn Standard

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has signed a joint venture agreement with Burn Standard Co Ltd (BSCL) for setting up a wagon components manufacturing facility at Jellingham in West Bengal.

The estimated capital outlay for the project is about Rs200 crore and it will have a capacity to produce 10,000 bogies and couplers each per annum.
 
The agreement was signed in Kolkata in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Railway minister Mukul Roy and other senior government officials.

''The facility would lead to overall development of the region and I urge the officials to complete it by 2013 and not 2014 as planned,'' said Banerjee. ''I had announced the project in my 2010 budget speech and Indian Railways has assured annual off-take for 5,000 units.''

Banerjee said it was praiseworthy that SAIL is investing Rs21,000 crore in Durgapur and Burnpur. ''Both these SAIL plants are playing a yeoman's role in transformation of West Bengal,'' she said. ''I have complete trust in SAIL's capacity and capabilities and the company is doing exemplary work for the state. The symbiotic relation between SAIL and Railways has the potential to grow further and it should be harnessed fully.''

According to CS Verma, chairman, SAIL, several of its plants produce a wide variety of steel products used by the railways, including rails, wheels and axles and material for coach manufacturing.

''SAIL is on the lookout for new markets/segments, where we can refocus our opportunities to supply more value-added steel,'' added Verma. ''Railways, which require stainless steel and other special grade steel items for manufacturing of various types of passenger coaches and goods wagons, as well as the cast steel frames (bogies & couplers) for these coaches, will be one such potential segment for SAIL.''