SAIL agrees Rs 11,262cr modernisation of BSP

New Delhi, Apr 4: The Board of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has given in-principle approval for modernisation and capacity expansion of Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) to seven million tonnes (MT) of crude steel per annum at an estimated cost of Rs 11,262 crore.

At present, BSP has a capacity to produce 3.93 MT of crude steel annually.

MECON has been selected as consultants for BSP's modernisation and expansion plan that includes installation of a new blast furnace that will be among the biggest in the country, a new seven-metre tall coke oven battery and a new sinter plant.

Under modernisation, the ingot route will be phased out and BSP will become a 100 per cent continuous casting plant with addition of a brand new steel melting shop of four MT capacity.

BSP is a major producer of long steel products, including rails.

To enhance its core strength in long products, the approved expansion plan envisages installation of a universal beam mill of one MT to produce beams up to 1.1-metre depth, which will be the only one of its kind in India.

A new bar and rod mill of 0.9 MT will also be added under the plan. Moreover, to meet the growing demand of the Indian Railways, a new universal rail mill of 1.2 MT with state-of-art technology will be installed.

BSP will also expand the production capacity of its plate mill to 1.42 MT under the plan. The modernisation and expansion of BSP is an integral part of SAIL's growth plan that envisages capacity augmentation to around 23 MT of crude steel by the year 2010.

The SAIL Board has already given in-principle approval to investment proposals for expanding the crude steel capacity of IISCO Steel Plant to 2.5 MT and of Bokaro Steel Plant to seven MT.

In addition, Salem Steel Plant's capacity will be doubled to 3.5 lakh tonnes of stainless steel. A large number of international technology and equipment suppliers have shown keen interest in these expansion projects. Orders for the projects are presently being finalised.

UNI