TATA re NMLIndia Tata Steel sees output up by a fifth in 2010
ReutersPublished: Friday, April 10, 2009
KOLKATA,India -- Tata Steel, the world's sixth-largest steelmaker, sees a 20%growth in its output in the 2009/10 financial year and expects a lowimpact from the global slowdown, its chief said on Friday.
"Wewant to produce 20% more at 1.5 million tonnes in FY10," ManagingDirector B. Muthuraman told reporters. The company had reported salesof 5.23 million tonnes of steel in 2008/09, which was 9% above theprevious year, he said.
"The negative impact of the globalrecession in India is much less. Despite global recession, demand willgrow 4% to 5% in India. Even if the market grows at 4% to 5%, we willgain in market share owing to our inherent strength," he said.
Thecompany plans to raise capacity at its Jamshedpur plant to 10 milliontonnes by April 2011, from 6.5 million tonnes now at a cost of150-billion rupees (US$3-billion).
Mr. Muthuraman said thecompany would start work on developing a steel project in the easternstate of Orissa next month. It is also buying land and has applied forsupply of iron ore for another plant at Saraikela in Jharkhand state.
He said the company is developing one iron ore project each in Canada and South Africa and a coal project in Mozambique.
Inaddition, the company's Anglo-Dutch unit Corus is cutting jobs. "Therestructuring of operations is a continuous process. We are doing somedownsizing," Muthuraman said.