Usha Martin to invest Rs 12 bn

It wants to increase its speciality steel capacity to one million tonne per annum from present level of 3,60,000 tonnes.

Usha Martin Ltd on Monday said it would invest Rs 12 billion over the next four years to increase its speciality steel capacity to one million tonne per annum from the present level of 3,60,000 tonnes.

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"This is as part of our target to be the largest speciality steel (wire and rope) producing company in the world by 2007-08," Usha Martin chairman BK Jhawar said at the company's annual general meeting in Kolkata. It currently stands second in the field.

"The project will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, speciality steel capacity will be expanded to 0.5 million tonne over the next two years," the company's joint managing director P Bhattacharya said.

The company has earmarked Rs 4.62 billion for the first phase, he added.

Bhattacharya said the capex for the project would be funded through a combination of debt, equity and internal accruals.