SAIL hot metal capacity to reach 19 million tonne by Sept end

After the operationalisation of a new blast furnace in Burnpur steel plant, Steel Authority of India's capacity for hot metal would go up to 19 million tonne by September end, the company's Chairman C S Verma said today.
Now, the capacity is 14 million tonnes per annum.
The new blast furnace in Burnpur steel plant will be commissioned in August, Verma said. In addition, the "first heat" in the new converter in Rourkela plant will be made on May 10.
"The converter in Rourkela steel plant - first heat - we are taking on May 10, and in next three months, in August, SAIL is going to commence one more blast furnace in Burnpur steel plant," he said.

The country's largest blast furnace is operating in Rourkela steel plant and the volume there is 4060 cubic metre, he added.
He said the company has also drawn up its "Vision 2025" plan to ramp up its hot metal capacity from 24 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes with the additional capital outlay of Rs 1,50,000 crore.

"We have prepared a Vision 2025 for ourselves. We plan to escalate our hot metal capacity from 24 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes by 2025. Rs 1,50,000 crore capital investment will be made by the company to ramp up the capacity to a level of 50 million tonnes by the year 2025-26," he said.

Verma said the steel company has the total investment of Rs 72,000 crore for the ongoing expansion, of which Rs 55,000 crore had been spent on modernisation plan.
"This is an ongoing expansion which we have been discussing many a time. All these special programmes were started three years back. Total investment is 72,000 crore. Already Rs 55,000 crore has been spent," he added.