Odisha will become the steel hub of India: Steel Minister

Odisha, June 17: Odisha will be the steel hub of the country in the coming days, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said on Saturday.

Asserting that 300 million tonnes of steel capacity will be produced by 2030, one-third of this will be produced in the eastern state, he said in his address at the dedication ceremony of four core steel manufacturing facilities at the 6 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) here.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present on the occasion.

The manufacturing units which were dedicated to the nation are India’s largest (4,554 cubic metre) blast burnace, India’s most modern (3 MTPA) basic oxygen furnace, worlds first and largest Syngas based (2 MTPA) DRI plant and world’s largest coal gasification plant for steelmaking based on indigenous coal, said a company statement.

Noting India imports about 80 per cent of coking coal worth Rs 20,000 crore, Singh said: “We remain dependent on imports but (JSSPL Chairman) Naveen (Jindal) has come out with a plan which can make us reduce this dependence.”

He added that the new technology of making steel by coal gasification helps in producing the metal using domestic coal. (IANS)