SPS Steel & Power, an arm of Kolkata-based SPS group has set up a steel plant at the Mini Industrial Growth Centre, Gwalthai in Himachal Pradesh. With this new plant, the company aims to scale up its present production capacity of 1.6 million tonne per annum to 2 million tonne per annum by 2010. The plant was inaugurated by Prem Kumar Dhumal, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.
Talking to FE, Bipin Kumar Vohra, chairman & MD, SPS group said, ?The total capital investment for this plant stands at around Rs 125 crore and the working capital requirement is around Rs 160 crore. We are funding the expansion through internal accruals and debt. Earlier we had planned to dilute about 10% of our equity but looking at the slump in the market we instead raised Rs 200 crore by joining hands with Kolkata based Surekha group.?
He further added, ?We are targeting a turnover of Rs 6,000 crore by the end of the fiscal year 2010-11. Last year we registered a turnover of Rs 3,500 crore. While setting up this facility we acquired another company called Suraj Fabrics Industries (Steel division). This new plant is spread over two plots of 8 acres and 16 acres with production capacity of 0.3 million tonne billets per annum and 0.26 million tonne of rolled products per annum. We have approached the Himachal government for acquiring additional 10 acres for setting up a unit for structurals and another two acres for providing housing facilities to our employees. The unit for structurals will cost us about Rs 60 crore. We are also mulling over setting up a cement plant as well as a multi-specialty hospital in Himachal Pradesh.?
The company already has steel plants at Durgapur in West Bengal and Jharsuguda in Orissa. But to cater to the needs of the northern regions SPS has commissioned this plant.
?We have signed up about 350 dealers in the Northern region including states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. While we are planning to focus on the real estate sector efforts will be made towards consolidating the rest of the business now. Our aim is to set up about 40 lakh houses in Tier II cities. Work has begun in Durgapur and Arsansol is also on the radar. A knowledge city is being developed at Durgapur and we have also taken up a hotel project of ITC in Kolkata,? shared Vohra.
