Electrosteel Castings, one of India’s leading producers of ductile iron pipes, has decided to set up a new DI pipe and fittings plant in Odisha, with an eye on large scale expansion and future diversification.

The board, which met on Monday, to finalise the fourth quarter and FY24 results, approved a proposal to set up the plant and acquire a 500-acre plot in Odisha for this purpose, signalling the intent of the promoter Kejriwal family to take up large capex again.

“We are working out the capacity of the new plant and investment required in this. It should be ready in a couple of months,” an official of the company said in the evening.

The capacity of the greenfield plant can be as much as 0.5 million tonnes, which is equivalent to about 60 per cent of ECL’s existing capacity of 0.85 mt. The company is likely to fund the project mostly from internal accruals.

While the new project is on the drawing board, the company is expanding the capacity of Srikalahasthi Works in Andhra Pradesh by 150,000 tonnes with ₹64 crore.