Sail aims to triple Bokaro plant's capacity

OREANDA-NEWS. Indian state-controlled steel producer Sail is seeking to triple the production capacity of its Bokaro plant in east India's Jharkhand state during the next 10-15 years, as part of a company-wide expansion.

Sail is currently drafting a plan to increase Bokaro's crude steel capacity to 13.4mn t/yr from the current 4.36mn t/yr.

The company is implementing the first phase of its expansion project, aiming to expand production capacity from 13.6mn t/yr to 23mn t/yr by the end of this year or 2016.

The plan to increase Bokaro's capacity is part of its second phase of expansion projects at a cost of \$20bn through until 2031, by when Sail aims to have a 50mn t/yr capacity.

The second phase has yet to be approved by Sail's board of directors with investment targets for each plant not yet set.

Sail has five steel plants producing crude steel at Bokaro, Burnpur, Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur. Bhilai, in central India's Chhattisgarh state, will be the largest with a 7mn t/yr crude steel capacity from the current 3.95mn t/yr by the end of the first phase of expansions .