Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) chairman SK Roongta has said the state-owned steel major will enhancing its annual hot metal production to over 26 million tonnes by 2010, through modernisation and expansion programmes being undertaken in all of its five integrated steel plants.

SAIL is well poised to play a vital role in the growth of the country. It has a highly skilled and committed workforce, captive raw materials, a nationwide marketing network and the necessary infrastructure to support further expansions, he said.

Roongta was speaking at the company''s 35th annual general meeting held in New Delhi on Thursday 20 September. The expansion project completion schedules have been compressed to the year 2010, against 2011-12 planned earlier, he told the company''s shareholders.

The company''s ''strong financial performance'' in 2006-07 and in the first quarter of the current financial year has contributed to enhanced cash generation and further reduction in SAIL''s debt-equity ratio. This would provide a strong financial base to support the company''s modernisation and expansion programmes, he observed.

Coal from Australia
An expert group comprising SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) officials will visit Australia soon to look into the acquisition of coking coal assets there to strengthen raw material linkages.

At a SAIL performance review meeting on Thursday, steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan was informed that the steel major was in touch with at least three coking coal companies in Australia, while RINL was looking at assets in Indonesia.

The expert team''s foray comes after Paswan visited Australia earlier this year with a high-powered delegation to explore opportunities to acquire coking coal assets. Both the state-owned steel giants depend on imports for a major part of their fuel requirements.

Paswan reviewed SAIL''s financial performance during 2006-07 and the first quarter of the current fiscal. He said units that had shown improved performance year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter must be given some incentives, while those lagging behind must be pulled up. He called for a system of accountability for slippages, both at corporate headquarters and at the plant level.