NEW DELHI: Fresh from bagging its first-ever order for supplying railroad track rails, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) said it has emerged as the lowest bidder for a 4.5 lakh tonne railway order, a tender floated by Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL).
The only steel major, after Steel Authority of India, which has been the sole supplier of rails from its Bhilai Steel Plant, has submitted a Rs 59,000-per tonne bid, which is around Rs 2,500 lower than that of ArcelorMittal.
Last year, RVNL had floated a tender for supply of 4.45 lakh tonne of rails. “We are the lowest bidder or L1 for the order. Now the RVNL is evaluating other aspects before placing the order, but we are hopeful of getting a substantial order,” said JSPL joint managing director N A Ansari. Currently, JSPL supplies about 60,000 tonnes to the Railways.
JSPL had set up the then most modern rail mill in Raigarh in Chhattisgarh in 2003 to be able to supply rails. But it was only in August 2018 that it fulfilled its aim, by securing a contract to supply 1 lakh tonne of rails to the national transporter.