New Delhi: Steel Authority of India Ltd, State-run steel manufacturer has decided to invest around Rs 1,000 crore on establishing at least three greenfield pellet plants amounting 6 million tons to raise its production capacitance to over 24 million tons by the end of the 11th Plan.

As the demand for coal increases in the country, Coal India Ltd is looking at importing coal to cater the domestic market. As per the industry resources, the rise in demand is due mainly due to coking coal. The country is falling short by 4-5% of the actual demand of coal.

Coal India is looking at Thai, Australian and Indonesian coal fields for importing non-coking coal. Steel companies import coal on their own.