Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) signed a shareholderÔÇÖs agreement for the Haridaspur-Paradip new rail line SPV (special purpose vehicle) of the Indian Railways in the presence of Mr Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, at Bhubaneswar today. SAIL will contribute Rs. 5 crore as an equity partner in the Indian RailwaysÔÇÖ SPV for providing port connectivity and development of freight corridor as part of the public-private partnership initiative taken by the Government of India.
Participation in the Haridaspur-Paradip SPV is part of SAILÔÇÖs ongoing effort to tie up infrastructure requirements for supporting its growth programme that is currently being implemented. The growth plan envisages SAIL attaining a production capacity of 22 million tonnes by the year 2010.
The new rail line connecting Haridaspur and Paradip to be set up in Orissa by the Indian Railways will help SAIL to cut down time and freight cost for transporting imported coking coal through reduction of distance from Paradip to its plants in Bokaro, Durgapur and Burnpur. Under the agreement, the Railways will ensure availability of rakes/wagons for carrying coking coal from Paradip to these SAIL plants.