SAIL Rourkela Plant to Expand Capacity to 9.8 MT

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday announced a 9.8 million tonne capacity expansion plan for Rourkela Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Kumaraswamy on Tuesday inaugurated a modern steelmaking facility at SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), and underscored the project's importance for the region's socio-economic development.

In a statement issued today, the minister announced a plan to double RSP capacity to 9.8 million tonnes per annum.

During the visit, he also inaugurated the modern 1 MTPA slab caster, constructed with a capex of about 1,100 crore, and inspected progress at the coke oven battery and the new pellet plant currently under construction.

Kumaraswamy said, "Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has also assured full support to achieve PM Modi's 300 MT steel capacity Vision".

This expansion is designed to significantly enhance supplies to critical sectors like defence, oil and gas, and automobiles.

Located at Rourkela in Odisha, around 320 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, RSP holds the distinction of being the first public sector steel plant in India. It was set up in the 1950s with German collaboration with an initial capacity of 1 MT.

The plant became operational on February 3, 1959, when the then President of India Rajendra Prasad lit up the first blast furnace Parvati.

At present, the total steelmaking capacity of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) stands at 20.30 MTPA, of which RSP's contribution is 4.4 MTPA.