Senior government officials told ET that the proceeds of the plant’s slump sale will be used to fund other projects of RINL.
“This will be a strategic sale. The forged wheel factory will be offered to the private sector,” an official in the know told ET.
In September last year, RINL had sought interest from private players for operating and maintaining the plant.
Officials in the know said two companies had expressed interest in operating the plant and their bids were being evaluated.
The government is also planning to invite expressions of interest for the divestment of RINL and its subsidiaries.
A roadshow was held in November 2022 for the strategic sale, followed by another round of consultation in December, which was attended by all major steel firms.The Indian Railways imports about 60,000 forged wheels per annum to meet its requirement of rolling stocks. In all, around 200,000 wheels of various kinds are required by the national transporter every year.
The Raebareli plant, set up in collaboration with SMS Germany, has a manufacturing capacity of 100,000 wheels per annum. This plant was set up to meet the country’s demand for rail wheels and to reduce import dependence.
The initial target was to complete the unit in 42 months from October 2013 but this got delayed. According to RINL, the plant became commercially operational on September 21, 2021. The first consignment of wheels was handed over to the railways in October 2022.
Responding to queries from ET, RINL said about 1,400 locomotive wheels and 2,000 LHB wheels had been supplied to the Indian Railways from this plant.
“Orders for about 2,800 wheels of various types are in hand,” the company said, adding that the last consignment of wheels from
this plant was shipped earlier this week.
