Five entities have qualified on technical parameters for Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd's proposed ductile iron spun pipe mill in Mangalore, a senior official of the Karnataka-based public sector company said.
Over the next two weeks, price bids will be opened and the turnkey contractor for Rs 225 crore project will be finalised by May-end, after due approval from the company board. The 1-lakh tpa pipe mill is understood to be the first in the public sector, by current thinking. Private players like Jindals and Electrosteel Castings dominate the market.
KIOCL has proposed to set up the mill in a 4.5 acre complex in the vicinity of its blast furnace at Parambur near Mangalore. Land acquisition and environmental clearance is in place. The pipe mill is scheduled to commission by early 2010 - within 20 months from appointing the turnkey contractor. The mill will produce pipes of various sizes - DN (diameter nominal) 100 mm to 1,000 mm. Ductile iron (DI) pipes are fast emerging as an alternative to cast iron (CI) pipes that tend to corrode and have already been banned in many countries. DI pipes besides being corrosion-resistant are also lighter and more durable.
KIOCL has also planned to set up a 4 million tpa iron ore pelletisation plant and a 0.5 million tpa coke oven plant at Mangalore. In March this year, public sector consultancy Mecon Ltd received the mandate to prepare the techno-economic feasibility report for both the projects, the official added. Discussing other initiatives, the official said that tenders are also being called from turnkey contractors for setting up a pulverised coal injection system attached to the existing 350 cubic metre blast furnace.