Tisco Puts Gopalpur Crm Project On Hold

The Tisco board has decided to put the 1.2 million tonne Gopalpur cold rolling mill project on the hold and to set up a 1 million tonne CRM at Jamshedpur first instead.

Inadequate water supply, poor railway line and lack of other infrastructural facilities at the Gopalpur port project have led the Tisco board to rule in favour of Jamshedpur.

This move has effectively delayed the Gopalpur steel project by at least a couple of years now. With the decision to set up the CRM in Jamshedpur the company has reworked the configuration of the Gopalpur project and decided to set up a 2.5 million tonne integrated steel making facility as the first phase of the project.

 

The work for the one million tonne CRM project at Jamshedpur is to be taken up early next year. With the implementation of the project, Tiscos steel-making capacity at Jamshedpur is expected to go up to 4.6 million tonne, by 1999 end.

With the readjustment of plans, the first phase of the Gopalpur project is now expected to be ready for commissioning by around 2002. Once complete the integrated Gopalpur complex will comprise a hot-rolled plant, a CRM, a long product mill and a rod mill.

The estimated cost of the Gopalpur project is expected to be around Rs 3,000 crore per million tonne of steel making capacity, which adds up to a cost of Rs 7,500 crore.

With the delay in the implementation of the Gopalpur project and the commissioning of the fourth phase of expansion at Jamshedpur next year the Tisco management felt it was essential to have a CRM at Jamshedpur. With the HRC capacity at the companys Jamshedpur plant going up with the commissioning of the fourth phase of the plant, and given the current stagnancy in the HRC market the company felt that the CRM at Jamshedpur was a vital forward integration.

The fourth phase of expansion plans at Jamshedpur is scheduled for completion next year at a cost of around Rs 4000 crore. With this expansion the companys crude steel making capacity is expected to be around 3.6 million tonne.

The fourth phase will also include a new 0.5 million tonne bar and rod mill being commissioned by Kawasaki Steel of Japan thereby taking Tiscos bar and rod capacity to about 0.8 million tonne.