Steel Ministry Forms Task Force to Fast-Track $3.45 Billion Rourkela Plant Expansion

The Ministry of Steel is forming a high-level committee to monitor and resolve implementation hurdles to Steel Authority of India Ltd’s (SAIL) Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) expansion project, costing about $3.45 billion, a senior government official stated on Thursday.

The decision was taken at a recent review meeting chaired by Union Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Heavy Industries Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The immediate focus of the committee would be to resolve land-related delays that have derailed the commencing of the project.

The Rourkela facility in Odisha is presently undergoing a major expansion that will increase more than double its production capacity from the existing 4.4 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 9 MTPA. The expansion will be executed on an area of 1200 acres of the existing mill complex.

Upon commissioning, the expanded RSP will almost contribute to around 25% of the target output of 35 MTPA fixed by SAIL by the year 2030, an ingredient of India’s broader infrastructure and industrial growth strategy.

In an investment outlay of $3.45 billion, among one of the largest interventions in India’s public domain steel markets, the government makes attempts on the boost of domestic steel capacity according to its Make in India initiative. The push appears to have lost considerable traction, however, due to complications around land acquisition and project execution. Hence the setup of a separate monitoring body.

This committee will work hand-in-glove with both Central and State agencies to keep the project on track, especially with SAIL ramping up production towards its 2030 targets and strengthening its manufacturing base in Eastern India.

Originally commissioned in 1959, the Rourkela plant is aged and remains very strategically located. Its expansion is seen as very important for improving competitiveness for the company and for India to meet increasing steel demand for the construction, railways, and automotive manufacturing sectors.