Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) will invest ₹6,500 crore in capital expenditure (capex) this financial year, part of a larger ₹1 lakh crore investment plan for the coming years, said CMD Amarendu Prakash on Friday. At an event organized by the Indian Steel Association, Prakash mentioned that the steel industry is urging the government to address the issue of cheap metal dumping by China.
“This year, our capex target is ₹6,500 crore, which includes maintaining our facilities and debottlenecking exercises. The major part of our ₹1 lakh crore expansion plan will start from FY26. We aim to increase our capacity from 20 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes per annum by 2031, and then to 50 million tonnes,” Prakash told reporters.
SAIL has informed investors about its plans for greenfield and brownfield expansions over the next 3-4 years, aiming to keep a debt-equity ratio of 1:1. Prakash highlighted that while the global steel industry is growing at 0.5%, India grew at 13% last year and is expected to grow at 8% CAGR over the next decade.
Regarding cheap steel imports from China, Prakash noted that other countries have taken steps like increasing import taxes, and India is expected to take similar measures. He emphasized the need to examine the quality and pricing of imported steel. Last year, India extended an anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese steel for another five years.
