The project, valued at around INR 45,810 crore, will more than double the plant’s capacity once completed. The blast furnace is scheduled to be commissioned within 3.5 years (41 months).
The new blast furnace will have an annual hot metal production capacity of 4.3 million tons and will form the core element of SAIL’s total planned capacity increase of 4.08 million tons. When the project is finished, IISCO’s capacity is expected to rise from 2.5 million tons to 7.1 million tons.
SAIL stated that the blast furnace will be one of the most advanced facilities the company has built to date, delivering a significant leap in efficiency, energy recovery and environmental performance. The company received the required environmental clearance from India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 4 June. The project is considered the largest single industrial investment ever undertaken in the state of Bengal.
As part of the capacity increase, contracts have also been signed for several auxiliary units, including a sinter plant, pellet plant and new lime and dolomite calcination facilities. The blast furnace package is considered a critical milestone for moving these processes from design to implementation. SAIL management emphasized that physical work at the site will gradually begin after the design engineering phase and that major capital spending for the Bengal project will intensify in the 2027 fiscal year.
The new facility is being built on the site of the former Indian Iron & Steel Company plant established by Biren Mookerjee. Because the land is fully owned by SAIL, the company does not expect to face the land related challenges encountered during earlier modernization periods.
One notable aspect of the project is its focus on advanced flat steel products used in automotive and durable consumer goods. Planned production lines include a hot strip mill, pickling and tandem cold mill PLTCM, continuous galvanizing line CGL, continuous annealing line CAL and color coating line CCL. With this configuration, the project will create new business opportunities for a wide range of sectors, from large scale industry to SMEs.
SAIL forecasts the creation of 500 direct and 6,500 indirect jobs during the construction phase and 3,092 direct and 2,408 indirect jobs during operations. The project is therefore seen as a strategic step for regional development and for India’s transition to advanced steel production.
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