RINL's forged wheel unit in UP to be commissioned by October, says Minister

New Delhi/Rae Bareli: Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste on Monday said RINL's forged steel plant in Uttar Pradesh will be commissioned by October 2021.

Kulaste was on a day-long visit to the plant located at Lal Ganj in Rae Bareli, about 80 kilometers from Lucknow, to review the progress of the unit.

"We are looking to begin the commercial production of forged wheels by September-October," the Minister of State (MoS) for Steel said.

The trial production has already been done. A few last minute trials are under progress following which it will be ready for commissioning, he said.

Visakhapatnam-based Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) has set up the plant at a cost of around Rs 1,680 crore with a production capacity of one lakh pieces of forged wheels per annum.

Earlier, the company's plan was to start the commercial production by March-April 2020 following the hot trial of forged wheel lines at the plant but it was disrupted due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

During lockdown, foreign experts involved in trials required before commissioning the plant also left for their respective countries in Europe, which further delayed the production.

The minister has directed senior company officials to commission the plant at the earliest, Sanjay Kumar Jha, General Manager (Projects) at RINL informed.