Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) will start work on increasing capacity to 50 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) as soon as the current phase of expansions is over next year, said the company chairman C S Verma.

According to a news report in The Hindu, SAIL is planning to invest Rs. 1.5 lakh crore and expand capacity to 50 (mtpa) by 2025.

With the completion of ongoing expansion and modernisation works Verma is confident that by next year the hot metal capacity will go up to 24 mtpa from 14mtpa.

“As on today, our net worth is Rs. 41,000 crore and going by a conservative debt-equity ratio, our borrowing power is Rs. 82,000 crore. Today our borrowing is Rs. 21,000 crore and most of the expenditure on the ongoing expansions is over. So, we will be generating more net worth,’’ he was quoted.

Verma informed that most of SAIL expansion would be carried out through brownfield projects in existing five steel mills, barring one proposed at Sindri, where the plan is to set up a 5.6 mtpa greenfield steel plant.

He said that the company is looking to acquire stake in coking coal mines through International Coal Ventures (ICVL) in the US and Australia which are the two main markets.