KIOCL to Spend Rs. 425 cr. on Three New Projects in Mangalore
The Hindu
CHIKMAGALUR, Aug 6: K. Ranganath, Chairman and Managing Director of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL), has said Rs. 425 crore will be spent on three new projects this year.
Speaking to presspersons in Kudremukh on Monday, Ranganath said they (projects) are a Rs. 225-crore ductile iron-spun pipe unit, a Rs. 100-crore scheme to replace vertical filters with horizontal filters at the pellet plant in Mangalore and a Rs. 100-crore plan for a railway line from Chikkanayakanahalli to Mangalore.
Stating that the Union Government has accepted the recommendation of the State Government to allot 116 hectares of land in Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumkur district to KIOCL for iron mining, he said a part of the equipment and manpower in Kudremukh will be shifted to the new location.
He said his company has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Orissa Mining Development Corporation for undertaking iron ore mining.
In addition, the Maharashtra Mining Corporation and the Chhattisgarh Government have also invited tenders for iron ore and coal mining.
Giving details of the performance of KIOCL during the past decade, he said it earned a profit of Rs. 150 crore during 2007-08 despite operating at less than half of its capacity. He said the company intends to earn a profit of Rs. 250 crore this year.
He said 19 lakh tonnes of iron ore pellets were produced last year and the target for this year is 25 lakh tonnes. He said the replacement of vertical filters will enable the pellet plant to process iron ore available in the State as transportation of ore from Chhattisgarh was expensive.
Expressing satisfaction that the company did not incur losses even in a single year despite the closure of mining activities in Kudremukh at the end of December 2005 following a Supreme Court order, he said the company migrated to other fields and concentrated on pellet production and operation of blast furnace unit.
He said there is a proposal to utilise the infrastructure in Kudremukh to promote eco-tourism. Discussions have been held with the Jungle Lodges and Resorts Limited and the response has been positive, he added.
M.B. Padiyar, Director (Production and Projects), was present.