According to IANS, the steel works would be capable of producing 10 million metric tons annually. JSW is proposing to build the facility on a site that had been set aside for South Korean steel giant POSCO. 

POSCO had been planning to build a 12 million metric ton facility at the site, but ultimately shelved those plans and handed the land back to the Odisha government.  

In a separate Odisha steel development, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. last week dedicated its new integrated steel works. The facility is capable of producing 6 million metric tons annually. 

“The completion of Odisha’s largest steel plant demonstrates JSPL’s impeccable project execution capabilities, fueled by passion, commitment and dedication of 25,000 Jindalites, with support of over (100,000) families anchored by the JSPL ecosystem. We will aspire to grow exponentially in line with the national steel production capacity target of 300 million metric tons by 2030,” JSPL chairman Naveen Jindal said in a statement. 

Built at a cost of around US$5.1 billion, the steel works is made up of what the company says is India’s largest blast furnace, capable of producing 4 million metric tons annually; a sinter plant; a direct reduction plant that utilizes coal gasification; plate and bar mills; and a 810-megawatt power plant. 

“The blast furnace has been completed at a significantly lower capital investment as compared to projects of similar scale. The capacity addition would further enhance the cost efficiencies of steelmaking – a continuous focus area integral to JSPL’s business philosophy,” the company said in a statement. 

“The economies of scale imparted by the significant capacity additions and their optimum utilization would effectuate JSPL’s debt-reduction roadmap.”