OREANDA-NEWS. Secretary Steel, Shri Rakesh Singh, inaugurated the new Sinter Machine and the Coke Oven Battery 11 complex at SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant today. He was accompanied by Shri C.S. Verma, Chairman, SAIL and other senior officials.. These two units are critical components of the on-going Modernization &Expansion program at the Maharatna company's flagship unit, which would enhance the Plant's production capacity to 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of Hot Metal from the current level of around 5 MTPA with an investment of Rs 17,265 crore.

Speaking on the occasion Secretary Steel described the two projects as the key upstream units that shall meet the increased raw material requirement of the plant post modernisation. He congratulated the Bhilai collective for its concerted efforts in operationalizing these units. He also said that the use of state of the art technologies in the units makes them environment friendly and energy efficient at par with global best.

Chairman, SAIL, Shri C.S. Verma, in his address described expeditious completion of all remaining projects as the greatest challenge before the Bhilai collective. He said that by virtue of its consistent performance in various parameters, Bhilai has won the prestigious Prime Minister's Trophy for best integrated steel plant in the country a record 11 times out of the 21 times. Expressing confidence in the plant collective's ability, he said that Bhilai's performance is the manifestation of its unique work culture and spirit of excellence. He further added that commissioning of new facilities as Bhilai would be an opportunity for the plant to further fortify its position in the steel industry.

The new 7 m tall coke oven battery that will enhance the Plant's coke making capacity by 0.88 MTPA is equipped with environment-friendly Coke Dry Cooling Plant that would facilitate better pollution control & energy recovery from the hot coke, besides improving coke quality. The entire COB No. 11 complex comprising Coke Oven Battery, Coke Dry Cooling Plant and By-product plant has been installed with an investment of Rs1,213.11 crore.

The new 360 sqm Sinter Machine installed at a cost of Rs' 730 crore will produce 3.708 MT sinter per annum. The eco-friendly unit includes high degree of process automation and has state of the art waste heat recovery and dedusting facilities.