India-headquartered steel giant Tata Steel has announced that the company is beginning the second phase of capacity expansion at Kalinganagar, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, following the successful implementation of the first phase of its greenfield steel project.
The expansion project will increase the capacity by 5 million mt from three million mt to 8 million mt annually at the site. After this expansion, total capacity of its Indian operations will be 23.6 million mt per year. Tata Steel currently has an annual capacity of 10 million mt in Jamshedpur, 3 million in Kalinganagar and 5.6 million mt at Bhushan Steel. The company will invest INR 235 billion ($3.23 billion) in the expansion project to meet the requirements of automotive, general engineering and other value-added segments.
The project configuration and costs include investments in raw material capacity expansion, upstream and midstream facilities, infrastructure and downstream facilities including a cold rolling mill complex. The Kalinganagar plant is expected to employ more than 21,955 workers in Odisha state.
Tata Steel said the expansion project will be completed within 48 months. This move will give the Kalinganagar facility the opportunity to be one of the lowest-cost producers of steel in the world.