Centre nod for Salem Steel Plant disinvestment

The other two units for which the government gave the disinvestment nod were SAIL’s Visveswaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISP), Bhadravati and Alloy Steel Plant (ASP), Durgapur. An official release here said all these three units of SAIL have been consistently making losses.

The entire process of the strategic disinvestment would be carried out with the help of a Transaction Adviser (TA), a Legal Adviser (LA) and an Asset Valuer (AV). The Request for Proposal (RFP) for appointment of TA, LA and AV have been uploaded on SAIL website, the release said. 

“Despite investment of around Rs 2,200 crore under modernisation and expansion, SSP is making losses for the last five years,” it said. The SSP losses stood at Rs 466 crore in 2015-16. 

The Centre’s ‘in-principle’ nod for SSP disinvestment comes at a time when leaders of various political parties, including the DMK and the PMK, have been urging the Centre to drop the move. 

The PMK urged the Centre to modernise the plant instead of privatising.