 "Tata Steel to start production at Kalinganagar plant in FY17")
The Kalinganagar plant has a capacity of six million tonne per annum (mtpa) and in the first phase, three mtpa steel would be produced.
"We would start production from the Kalinganagar plant in the next (financial) year," said T V Narendran, managing director (India & South East Asia), Tata Steel.
On Tata Steel's Gopalpur SEZ (Special Economic Zone), he said, "We are trying to bring in overseas investors for the project." Tata Steel recently held roadshows in Tel Aviv and London to woo foreign investors for the Gopalpur industrial park where it is the anchor tenant.
Tata Steel has commissioned various components of the Kalinganagar steel facility like coke oven plant and sinter unit. The blast furnace and steel melting shop (SMS) are expected to be fully commissioned by March this year. Commercial production would take off from the next fiscal.
The steel company has invested Rs 25,000 crore in the first phase on the Kalinganagar project. But overall investment on the facility could go up to Rs 100,000 crore as Tata Steel is mulling to expand capacity to 16 mtpa.
To feed the Kalinganagar plant, Tata Steel is investing Rs 2000 crore on developing its captive iron ore mines at Khandabandh.
Presently, iron ore from Joda mines will cater to Tata Steel's first phase requirement till 2017. The Khandabandh mines will meet the plant's requirement from 2017 till 2020. The Khandabandh mines would have a mining capacity of five mtpa.
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The steel firm has been alloted 3470 acres of land for the Kalinganagar project. The plant would roll out high end flat steel products.
In the first phase, Tata Steel's Kalinganagar unit would roll out flat, lighter, high tensile strength steel and help strengthen the steel maker's presence in automotive and oil & gas sectors.