RITES, SAIL joint venture to set up wagon factory at Kulti

Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd (RITES Ltd), an undertaking of the ministry of railways, will sign a joint venture agreement with the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), a public sector undertaking under the ministry of steel, for setting up a wagon manufacturing factory at Kulti, near Asansol, in Bardhaman district of West Bengal.

Managing director of RITES V K Aggarwal and director (finance) of SAIL Soilesh Bhattacharya will sign the joint venture agreement at a programme in Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi tomorrow.

The proposed joint venture will have a capacity to handle 1,500 wagons per annum, including manufacture of 1,200 wagons and rehabilitation of 300 wagons, an official release said today.

The factory will manufacture BOXN type wagons, including specialised high-end wagons. It would also manufacture modern stainless steel wagons with marginal investment in plant and machinery. The project cost is estimated to be around Rs85 crore in the first phase, which will go up to Rs120 crore in the second phase, the release added.