Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) plans to invest ₹6,500 crore this fiscal year, as part of its ₹1 lakh crore capital expenditure over the next few years, according to CMD Amarendu Prakash. Addressing an Indian Steel Association event, Prakash discussed concerns about Chinese steel dumping and called for government action to address this issue.
In his remarks to the media at the event, Prakash emphasized the capex target of ₹6,500 crore for the current financial year, which includes regular maintenance and debottlenecking exercises. He highlighted that the majority of the ₹1 lakh crore capex expansion will commence from FY26. SAIL aims to increase its capacity from 20 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes per annum by 2031 in the first phase, and to 50 million tonnes in the subsequent phase.
Previously, SAIL had informed investors of its intention to invest ₹1 lakh crore across its plants for greenfield and brownfield expansions over the next 3-4 years, while maintaining a debt-equity ratio of 1:1.
Prakash noted that while global steel growth is at 0.5 percent, India experienced a 13 percent growth last year and is projected to grow at 8 percent CAGR over the next decade. Regarding the import of cheap Chinese steel, Prakash mentioned that countries worldwide have adopted measures such as increasing import taxes, and India is also expected to take appropriate steps. He underscored the importance of considering the quality and pricing of imported steel in these measures.
Reports indicate that India extended the anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese steel imports for another five years last year.
