Tata Steel to commission Gopalpur plant on Nov 30

It will set up a ferrochrome complex at Gopalpur in Odisha with a capacity of 55,000 tonnes

Tata Steel is set to commission its 55,000 tonne per annum ferrochrome plant at Gopalpur in south Odisha on November 30th.

The plant will be inaugurated by chief minister Naveen Patnaik in the presence of senior Tata Steel officials including its managing director TV Naredran.

The launching of the unit coincides with the holding of 'Make in Odisha' event in Bhubaneswar, an initiative of the state government to showcase the industrial eco-system of the state and invite investment.

Though the work on the ferrochrome plant, built at a cost of Rs 542 crore, has been completed for some time, its commissioning had been delayed due to last minute hitches over power connection and agitation by some land losers over higher compensation and jobs in the project.

Meanwhile, while going for the commissioning of the ferrochrome unit at Gopalpur, the company has dropped its plan to set up another ferrochrome project at the location having 2.4 lakh tonne annual capacity on the fear of uncertainty over raw material supply beyond 2020.

The company's chromite mining lease at Sukinda valley comes to an end in 2020.

Besides Gopalpur, Tata Steel has two ferrochrome plants in Odisha, one at Bamnipal of 65,000 tonnes and the other at Athgarh of 55,000 tonnes.

It may be noted Tata Steel had acquired 2,970 acres of land at Gopalpur to set up a steel plant in 1996, but it later decided to use the land to establish an industrial park and special economic zone. The ferrochrome plant has come up in the area marked for an industrial park.