Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) plans to increase the production capacity of its Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) to 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2030. The expansion, requiring an investment of INR 300 billion (USD 3.6 billion), will take place over an area of approximately 1,200 acres.
Currently, RSP has a production capacity of 4.4 MTPA, contributing to SAIL’s total steelmaking capacity of 20.3 MTPA. Following the expansion, RSP will account for about 25% of SAIL’s planned 35 MTPA capacity by 2030. The plant produces plates, hot-rolled coils, welded pipes, and cold-rolled non-oriented electrical steel used in industries such as shipbuilding, rail wagons, oil and gas, and automotive manufacturing. It also has a dedicated facility for producing naval-grade and armor-grade steel.
The expansion will involve setting up a raw material handling plant, coke oven stamp charge battery, sinter plant, thin slab caster-direct rolling, cold rolling mill, silicon mill, and logistics infrastructure. A new blast furnace and steel melting shop will also be constructed.
To support logistics, a railway line connecting Dumertra station to RSP is under construction, aimed at facilitating the movement of raw materials and finished products. This project is being executed by South Eastern Railways under a cost deposit scheme, with funding provided by RSP.
SAIL operates under the Ministry of Steel and has four other integrated steel plants in Durgapur, Burnpur, Bhilai, and Bokaro.