RVNL Bags ₹2,977 Crore NMDC Contract To Build Iron Ore Blending Yard In Visakhapatnam

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has received a letter of award from National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for the construction of a buffer stockpile and blending yard in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The contract is valued at ₹2,977 crore and carries an execution timeline of 42 months. The facility will have a handling capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum and sits at the heart of NMDC's ambition to become the first company in India to sell branded iron ore.

Why Branded Iron Ore is Important

Branded iron ore is a product that comes with fixed and consistent quality specifications, which was not available in the Indian market before. The appeal for steel producers is significant as consistent ore quality vastly improves the efficiency of the blast furnace.

For NMDC, it opens up the possibility of asking for a price premium over standard iron ore. The company expects to launch the product within three years and describes it as a potential game changer for the domestic iron ore market.

Strategic Location Makes Vizag The Natural Choice

The location was chosen for its logistical advantages. NMDC operates mines in Chhattisgarh, and Visakhapatnam offers strong connectivity from those sites.

The blending yard will come up on approximately half of the 1,167 acres NMDC holds on long lease from Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, the corporate entity behind the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. The site is also situated close to Gangavaram port, which supports efficient onwards dispatch of finished products.

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Part Of A Larger Expansion

The Visakhapatnam project is one piece of a much bigger capital deployment plan. NMDC intends to invest ₹50,000 crore over the coming years as it works to scale up iron ore mining capacity to 100 million tonnes by 2030. In FY26, the company posted record output of 53.15 million tonnes and sales of 50.23 million tonnes. For the current financial year, NMDC is targeting production of more than 60 million tonnes.

Sources:

CNBC TV18

The Hindu