JSPL commissions 2 mtpa Oman steel plant

Company's steel making capacity now stands at 7 mtpa, making it among the top five Indian steel firms

Jindal Steel and Power today said it has commissioned a 2 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant at Sohar in Oman with a total investment of $800 million.

Naveen Jindal-owned JSPL runs the facility, the third largest unit in Middle East and in the gulf region, through a wholly-owned subsidiary Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel.

"The plant will not only meet the growing steel demand of Oman but would also cater to the needs of entire gulf region and the Middle East," Jindal said in a company statement.

There has been a rapid rise in steel demand in Oman in recent times due to a huge spurt in construction activities.

Following the commissioning of the facility, JSPL's steel making capacity now stands at 7 mtpa, making it among the top five Indian steel firms. It has 3 mtpa steel plant at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh and 2 mtpa at Angul in Odisha.

JSPL had acquired Shadeed Iron and Steel's 1.5 mtpa gas- based HBI (hot briquetted iron) plant in 2010 at a cost of $500 million and as a step towards forward integration, set up a 1.8 mtpa DRI plant which has been operating for the last two years.

The steel melting shop (SMS), the missing link from the plant to be categorised as an "integrated" one, has also been commissioned recently. Jindal Shadeed's SMS is Oman's first and largest SMS and also the third largest unit of Middle East and Gulf region.

The plant has an electric arc furnace with a capacity of 200 tonnes, a ladle furnace of the same capacity and continuous casting machine to produce billets and blooms in Square and round sections.