Manufacturing capacity of state- owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) will go up to

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19 million tonne (MT) next fiscal from 14 MT now, with the start of production in two blast furnaces, a top company official said today.

"Two blast furnaces will start production next fiscal. This will help us to raise our steel capacity to 19 MT from 14 MT now," SAIL Chairman C S Verma said on the sidelines of the Global Steel Summit here.

SAIL has embarked on a whopping Rs 72,000 crore expansion plan intending to take its steel-making capacity to 24 mt by 2013-14. The company also plans to further expand its capacity to 45 MT by 2020.

Verma said SAIL's Rs 12,650 crore capital expenditure plan for the current fiscal was the highest in its history. Next fiscal, it will go up further to Rs 14,500 crore.

On steel prices, Verma said they would remain more or less stable in the short-term, though the demand for the metal would be "brisk" in the current quarter.

"I don't think price will go up or down in short-term. The demand is very good currently. This quarter is going to be a brisk quarter. For the year as a whole, steel demand growth should be seven per cent," he said, adding the price of raw material should also stay at the current level.

On the proposed joint venture with Posco, Verma said it is "very very close" and everything should happen "very soon".

"I am using the words "very soon" for the first time," he said.

The SAIL-Posco joint venture aims to set up a plant at an investment of Rs 16,000 crore in Bokaro to produce 3 mtpa auto-grade steel at Bokaro.