Tata Steel's capacity to go up to 33.5 MT by 2014

Tata Steel Group's plant capacity will go up to 33.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2014 with the 2.9 mtpa expansion of Jamshedpur plant and commissioning of the first phase of 3 mtpa Odisha unit, Chairman Ratan Tata has said.

Tata said the ongoing 2.9 mtpa expansion in Jamshedpur is expected to go on stream this financial year, taking the company's production capacity in India to 9.7 mtpa.

Tata Steel, which has units in Europe and Thailand, has a total steel-making capacity of 28 mtpa at present.

"The company's new six mtpa greenfield steel plant in Odisha is under construction and subject to essential captive mining approvals from the government, the first phase of three million tonnes is scheduled to commence in 2014.

"Therefore, Tata Steel by 2014, would have a global steel capacity of 33.5 million tonnes," he said in the company's annual report for 2011-12.

It did not figure among the top 10 producers in the world this year. In 2011, ArcelorMittal was the biggest steel producer with an output of 97.2 mt. Chinese firm Ansteel Group was the 10th largest producer at 29.8 mt.

Talking about Tata Steel's India operations, he said it will continue to remain strong on account of robust demand in the country.

At the same time, the steel major's European operations would "continue to be under enormous stress for the next year or two until the Western European economy recovers", he added.

In 2011-12, Tata Steel had produced 14.27 mt in Europe, down from 14.80 mt in the previous year.

"The unprecedented rise in iron ore and coking coal prices coupled with the acute decline in market demand will continue to negatively impact company's European operations," Tata said, adding that his firm has already started restructuring and capacity rationalising process to reduce costs.

The European operations of the company were particularly impacted in the second and the third quarter of the last financial year due to high raw material costs.