Visakhapatnam steel plant won’t be privatised: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy

VISAKHAPATNAM: Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy, on Thursday said that the Visakha Steel Plant will not be privatised and that the plant will be revived. Union Minister Kumaraswamy said that a special package has been announced to take the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on the path of profit.

Kumaraswamy met with representatives of the Visakha Steel Plant and discussed the use of the special package for the steel plant. Later, Kumaraswamy spoke to the media along with Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, State Minister Satyakumar Yadav, MPs Bharat, Kalisetti Appalanaidu, and MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao.

Kumaraswamy assured that the interests of the workers will not be disturbed and the problems will be resolved within three months and revealed that he will work to resolve the problems of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and that the third furnace will also be started in June.

I’m deeply grateful to Hon’ble PM Sri @narendramodi Ji and Sri @hd_kumaraswamy Ji for safeguarding the Vizag Steel Plant and upholding the promises made to North Andhra. The NDA Government truly stands for the people and their rights! #VisakhaUkkuAndhrulaHakku… pic.twitter.com/UFxWYOPe9Y

— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) January 30, 2025

He said that Andhra Pradesh MPs have explained the plight of the Visakhapatnam steel industry and that after becoming the Union Minister, he conducted many reviews on the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Kumaraswamy said that they have set a target of achieving 300 million tonnes of steel production across the country by 2030.

“The state is currently second in steel production in the world, reminded that about 30 people have died for the establishment of the Visakhapatnam steel industry. The production of the Visakhapatnam steel industry was good in the beginning. The Visakhapatnam steel industry was performing well till 2013-14 and achieved Navratna status in 2013”, said Kumaraswamy.

Further, Kumaraswamy said that in 2014-15, it was decided to increase steel production in the Visakhapatnam steel industry, and since the decision to increase production was made, it has been in losses. Kumaraswamy said that a proposal has been made to disinvest in the Visakhapatnam steel industry in 2021. He clarified that the Visakhapatnam steel plant will not be privatised and the plant will be renovated.

He revealed that the Visakhapatnam steel plant currently has a debt of Rs 35 thousand crores and explained that a special package has been announced for the steel plant due to the efforts of Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu.

Minister of State for Steel Srinivasa Varma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal is to make steel production in the country to 300 million tons. He said that a special package has been announced to take the Visakhapatnam steel plant to the path of profits and added that the special package has been received due to the efforts of CM Chandrababu and Kumaraswamy. (ANI)