SAIL to expand Rourkela plant to 9 MTPA with ₹30,000 Cr investment

SAIL will invest Rs 30,000 crore to expand Rourkela Steel Plant’s capacity to 9.4 MTPA by 2030, strengthening its supply to key sectors like defence, oil & gas, and automobiles. The project involves setting up new facilities across 1,200 acres and upgrading logistics infrastructure. This expansion is a major milestone in SAIL’s long-term growth strategy and capacity enhancement plans.

State-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is set to significantly scale up the capacity of its Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) in Odisha, with a plan to more than double its production to 9.4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2030. The project, estimated at Rs 30,000 crore, is part of SAIL’s broader target to enhance its total steelmaking capacity to 35 MTPA by the end of this decade.

RSP, located in Rourkela, around 320 km from Bhubaneswar, has a storied history as India’s first public sector steel plant. Established in the 1950s with German collaboration, the plant commenced operations on February 3, 1959, when the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, ignited its first blast furnace, Parvati. From an initial capacity of 1 MTPA, RSP has grown steadily and currently contributes 4.4 MTPA to SAIL’s overall capacity of 20.3 MTPA.

Alok Verma, Director In-Charge of RSP, in a recent interview, highlighted that the planned expansion will not only solidify RSP’s position as a key contributor to SAIL’s production, accounting for nearly 25% of the total target by 2030, but will also enhance its ability to meet growing demand from critical sectors such as defence, oil & gas, automobiles, shipbuilding, and railways.

RSP already produces a diverse range of products including plates, hot rolled (HR) coils, spiral welded and electric resistance welded pipes, and cold rolled non-oriented (CRNO) steels. These products serve applications in shipbuilding, LPG cylinder manufacturing, rail wagons, oil and gas pipelines, automobiles, motors, generators, and transformers. The plant is also a strategic asset for India’s defence sector with its dedicated mill for naval-grade and armour-grade plates.

The expansion project will be implemented on approximately 1,200 acres on the south-eastern flank of the existing plant. Major facilities planned as part of this greenfield project include a new raw material handling plant, a coke oven stamp charge battery, a sinter plant, a thin slab caster with direct rolling, a cold rolling mill, a silicon mill, and comprehensive logistics infrastructure. In addition, a new blast furnace and a steel melting shop will be constructed to support the enhanced production volume.

To complement the capacity expansion, logistical upgrades are also underway. A new railway line connecting Dumertra station to RSP is currently under construction to facilitate the smooth movement of raw materials and finished products. This will help ease congestion at the nearby Bondamunda Yard. The project is being executed by South Eastern Railways under a cost deposit scheme, with RSP having already deposited the necessary funds to Indian Railways.

SAIL, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, is among India’s top three steel producers. Alongside RSP, the steelmaker operates integrated plants in Durgapur and Burnpur (West Bengal), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), and Bokaro (Jharkhand), playing a vital role in meeting the country’s infrastructure and industrial needs.