JSP plans to make Angul facility India's largest single-location steel plant: MD Bimlendra Jha

New Delhi: Jindal Steel and Power (JSP) is planning to make its Angul unit India's largest single-location steel manufacturing facility, its Managing Director Bimlendra Jha has said.

Currently, the capacity of the Odisha plant is being ramped up to 11.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from the existing 5.6 MTPA, Jha said. "We are more than doubling the capacity in Angul by next year...we have ambitions to further double it up to 24 MTPA, making it India's largest single-location steel plant," the managing director said without sharing any timeline for the plan. The steel plant in Raigarh will also undergo an expansion of up to 9.6 MTPA from the current 3.6 MTPA, the company said in a statement.

On the expansion of the Angul plant, Jha said the company aims to complete the trial production by the end of 2023 and commercial production by next year. On the outlook for the sector, Jha said India is on a growth trajectory. The government's thrust on infrastructure projects has led to the creation of domestic steel demand. The demand growth rate is currently in the range of 7-8 per cent, he added.

"This is the right time to invest in the domestic steel sector. The world is looking towards India as an option against China. Additionally, schemes like PLI...are creating markets for special grades of steel both in terms of production and consumption," Jha said. The Raigarh steel plant has a 1 MTPA Rail Mill, and it produces structural steel and steel plates for various applications. The Angul steel plant, a 1.4 MTPA rebar mill, is famous for 5-metre-wide plates.