Big steel makers need to enhance capacity to meet demand: Secy

Big steel producers like SAIL need to enhance their capacities to meet the growing domestic demand, a senior government official said today.
The domestic demand for steel would increase and big producers like SAIL would need to push their capacity to meet the demand, Steel secretary G Mohan Kumar said.
The capacity expansion of SAIL would support the country's gross steel production growth, Kumar, who was on his maiden visit to SAIL's iron ore mines operating under the raw materials division (RMD) in Jharkhand said.
The division was working on modernisation and capacity expansion for SAIL's mines in the eastern region.

The iron ore mines of SAIL would jack up production to 39 million tonne per annum (mtpa) in tandem with the company's mega expansion plan of producing over 23.6 mtpa of Hot Metal from the present capacity of 14.3 mtpa, which is expected to be completed by 2015-16, sources said.
The post expansion capacity of RMD's existing mines at Kiriburu, Meghahatuburu and Bolani would be to 5.5, 6.5, and 10 mtpa from its present level of 4.2, 4.3 and 4.1 mtpa, respectively, they said.

Work for most of the packages of these projects have already been awarded and likely to be completed by 2014-15.

The Gua Ore Mines would also be developed to 10 mtpa along with Beneficiation and Pelletisation facilities.
Presently the Gua Ore Mines have crushing, screening, conveying and wagon loading facilities capable of dealing with 2.4 mtpa, SAIL sources added.