Steel majors KIOCL, NMDC and RINL have decided to set up a 13 MTPA slurry pipeline between Nagarnar and Vizag for carrying iron ore with Rs 3500 crore investment. MoU has already been inked between them for setting up a joint venture in which Kudremukh Iron Ore Company (KIOCL) will hold a 48 per cent stake. NMDC and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd will hold 26 per cent each. International technology / equity partner may be roped in to join the project at a later stage. The slurry pipeline will be used to transport iron ore fines from NMDC?s Bailadila mine in Chhattisgarh to Vizag in Andhra Pradesh, where RINL has its lone steel-making facility. A 6 MTPA pellet plant will also be set up by the partners in Vizag. Pellets are key raw materials for sponge iron, a key input for steel-making.