OREANDA-NEWS. India's JSW Steel plans to add 2.75mn t/yr of capacity in the current 2015-16 fiscal year ending 31 March, taking potential output to 17.05mn t/yr from the current 14.3mn t/yr.

It plans to complete the expansion of No.1 blast furnace to 1.9mn t/yr from the current 900,000 t/yr at its 10mn t/yr Vijayanagar steel plant in south India's Karnataka state. JSW plans to expand Vijayanagar's capacity to 12mn t/yr by 2016-17.

The company also expects to complete expansion of the Dolvi steel plant on the west coast in 2015-16, taking capacity to 5mn t/yr from 3.3mn t/yr.

JSW will marginally increase the production capacity of its Salem steel plant in south India by upgrading the No.1 blast furnace to 1.05mn t/yr from 1mn t/yr.

It has also sought approval from its board of directors to raise up to \\$2.2bn for expansion projects in 2015-16 and 2016-17 to take production capacity up to 18mn t/yr.

The company said its key focus this year will be securing iron ore for its plants, as the closure of several mines in east India's Orissa state has forced it to increase exports during 2014-15. JSW is hoping that the Orissa mining restrictions will soon be eased, while there will be a significant increase in ore supplies in Karnataka.

JSW wants to restrict any iron ore imports this year to Dolvi. The plant is supplied with iron ore pellets by its subsidiary Amba River Coke, which has a 4mn t/yr pellet production capacity.