India's state-controlled producer Steel Authority of India (Sail) aims to double steelmaking capacity at its Rourkela plant in eastern India's Odisha state to 9.8mn t/yr by 2030, the steel ministry said.
The expansion will be done with an investment of 300bn rupees ($3.4bn), Indian heavy industries minister H. D. Kumaraswamy said on 19 November.
Robust mining growth in Odisha will help secure raw material availability for the Rourkela plant, the ministry said. Odisha Group of Mines has raised output by over 5pc this year and is expected to exceed 15mn t in 2025–26, strengthening raw material security for Rourkela plant, the ministry added.
The minister also inaugurated a 1mn t/yr slab caster at Sail's Rourkela facility. A coke oven battery and a new pellet plant are currently under construction.
Sail is planning to increase its crude steel capacity from 20mn t/yr at present to 35mn t/yr by the fiscal year ending March 2031. The ministry in January said it will invest Rs200bn to expand production capacity at Sail's Bokaro plant in Jharkhand state. The planned additions, which include a new blast furnace, would increase hot metal capacity at the Bokaro plant from 5.25mn t/yr to 7.55mn t/yr.
Private-sector steelmakers such as JSW Steel and Tata Steel have also undertaken major expansions, in line with India's goal of 300mn t/yr steel production by 2030.
