MSTC-Mahindra recycling plant likely in February 18

Mahindra MSTC Recycling, the joint venture between state-run metal scrap trading firm MSTC and Mahindra Intertrade Ltd, is likely to make the first phase of the project — a collecting and dismantling unit — operational by February 2018. 

Despite policy uncertainty on recycling, we are going ahead with the project expecting the same would be in place soon as there is a mounting pressure for pollution control, MSTC CMD BB Singh said. The Centre is yet to come out with a clearcut vehicle scrapping policy. The guidelines are in place for recycling but without the policy there would be no compulsion on the vehicle owner to send the car for dismantling. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 120 crore. 

Singh said they are expecting to operationalise the global standard collection and dismantling centre at Noida by February 2018. It will come up on a seven-acre land and would cost anywhere between Rs 30 and 40 crore. 

“This is the most complex part of the project. The shredding unit can come up without many hiccups. It could be a one-million-tonne capacity shredding unit,” he said. 

There are, however, a few operational issues the project may face like lack of clarity on how and who will do the de-registration of the vehicle before a certificate of destruction is issued by the company, he said.