Narendra Modi dedicated Rs12,000 crore to SAIl’s modernised and expanded Rourkela Steel Plant on the occasion of Utkal Diwas in Odisha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated an amount of 12,000 crore to SAIl modernised and expanded Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP). In his address speech, he described Rourkela as the town which has given India the strength of steel. He went on to add that Rourkela Steel Plant plays a key role in the nation’s defence. The historic occasion on the auspicious Utkal Diwas was witnessed by the governor of Odisha SC Jamir, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister for Steel and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas (I/C), Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of State for Steel and Mines, Vishnu Deo Sai, secretary of Steel Rakesh Singh and chairman, SAIl, CS Verma, along with other dignitaries and senior officials from SAIl, Central and State government.
The modernisation and expansion programme of RSP implemented with an investment of around 12,000 crore would not only double the plant’s hot metal capacity from two to 4.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) but would also usher in a new era of green and high quality steel making. Before the function, Modi visited the new 4.3 mt wide plate mill installed under this modernisation and expansion programme and showed keen interest in its operations and capabilities.
The mill is designed to produce very high strength plates for strategic sectors like power, renewable energy, ship building, defence, oil and gas et al, and would largely reduce the India’s dependence on imports of plates for these key sectors. This new mill would further add to RSP’s reputation as a manufacturer of high quality plates including those which have been used for the construction of the first indigenously built Air Craft Carrier, INS Vikrant.
Besides the new plate mill, the new facilities at RSP include, the country’s second largest operating blast furnace of 4,060 cum volume, a seven metre tall coke oven battery with coke dry cooling plant, a 360 sqm sinter plant, a 150 tonne basic oxygen furnace with combined blowing facility, a RH vacuum degasser and a 2,500 mm wide slab caster. Narendra Singh Tomar restated the importance of the steel industry in realising the dream of Make in India and the crucial role SAIl will play in reaching the modernisation and expansion goal of creating 300 MTPA steel making capacity in the country.
The current program at RSP would provide an apt platform for its further capacity enhancement to 10 MTPA as part of SAIl’s plan to increase its capacity to 50 MTPA. Naveen Patnaik commended the contributions of Rourkela Steel Plant in the development of the state of Odisha and reminisced how RSP played a key role in transforming the entire region through its economic and CSR activities. He assured SAIl of all support for its ventures in Odisha. During the function, the PM also awarded the PM’s trophy for the best integrated steel plant for the years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. SAIl’s Bhilai Steel Plant, declared winner for the year 2011-12, was the proud recipient of the coveted trophy for a record 11th time. The function, which began with a welcome address by Jual Oram concluded with a proposal of vote of thanks by Dharmendra Pradhan.