Steel plant in Odisha – Top steel plants in the state

The state of Odisha is home to Rourkela Steel Plant – India’s first integrated steel plant in the public sector. The state has approximately 50+ steel plants with plans of setting up 12 more (Source: ET Infra, 2022). Jindal Steel and Power Limited’s (JSPL) Angul steel plant in Odisha, is the biggest integrated steel plant in Odisha. The state of Odisha contributes almost 20% to India’s overall steel production. In recent times, Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) also plans to build the world’s largest steel plant in Odhisha (Source: TOI, April 2023).

But what makes Odisha the hub for steel production and global investments in steel? Which are the biggest steel plants in Odisha? Which cities/locations are the steel plants located in? What are the challenges faced? We’ll take a look at all of these and more here.

Steel plant in Odisha – Major players

There are 50+ steel plants in Odisha and investments are being made for more to come up in the next few years. Let’s take a closer look at the list of steel plant in Odisha.

1. Jindal steel plant in Odisha – Angul steel plant, Odisha

The Jindal steel plant in Odisha, at Angul is considered the country’s most modern 6 MTPA integrated steel plant. It is also the largest steel plant in Odisha and in India and is in plans of expanding its production capacity to become the largest single-location steel manufacturing facility in the country. The plan is to increase capacity to 11.6 MTPA and further to 24 MTPA and commercial production is expected to commence by next year. (Source: ET, Oct 2023)

JSP’s Angul plant has a blast furnace of 4.25 MTPA, with a 1.2 MTPA plate mill and 1.5 MTPA Bar mill. The plate mill is also renowned for manufacturing the widest steel plates in India, at 5 metre wide.

Also read: Jindal Steel price list in India

2. Rourkela Steel Plant – SAIL

India’s first integrated steel plant in the public sector, the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), is one of the oldest steel plants in the country.  Established in 1959, the plant is now operated by the Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

The plant currently has a steel production capacity of 4.5 MTPA of hot metal, 4.2 MTPA of crude steel, and 3.9 MTPA of saleable steel (Source: Wikipedia). In 2016, the plant got its CE marking for its export grade plates.

In recent news, RSP’s hot strip metal (HSM-2) has got CE marking for its products. This denotes the manufacturer’s declaration that the products comply with the EU’s directives. This naturally implies that opportunities in the European market are now open for the steel maker. Non-alloyed hot rolled plates and coils, of nine different grades, will be provided by HSM-2. (Source: The Week, Dec 2023).

Also read: EU carbon tax rules and how prepared is India’s steel sector

Some of the popular steel products manufactured here are:

• HR coils and plates
• Chequered plates and coils
• Defence grade plates
• Galvanised sheets (corrugated and plain)
• ERW pipes
• SW pipes

It is SAIL’s only plant to produce silicon steel for the power sector and high quality pipes for the oil and gas sector.

Also read: SAIL vs Tata Steel

3. Tata Steel plant in Odisha – Kalinganagar steel plant

When considering the list of steel plant in Odisha, Tata Steel Limited’s Kalinganagar steel plant requires specific mention. As per Tata Steel’s website, the Kalinganagar plant is the first steel plant in India to be included in the Global Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum for its leadership in applying Industry 4.0 technologies.

The plant began its journey of commercial steel production in May 2016 and has a capacity of 3 MTPA. This naturally has generated significant employment in the state of Odisha and will continue to do so.

The second phase of expansion to increase crude steel capacity to 8 MTPA has already commenced. In addition, increase in the production capacities of Hot Rolling and the new Cold Rolling Complex of 2.2 MTPA has also begun. This will enable the plant to increase the production of flat steel to meet demand for steel in automotive sector, oil and gas, general engineering and others (Source: The Hindu Business Line, Dec 2023). The goal here is to use advanced technologies in steel production to become one of the lowest cost steel producers.

Also read: Tata Steel product list catalogue

4. JSW Steel plant in Odisha – Bhushan Power & Steel Limited

As a part of its growth plans, JSW Steel aims to invest in a ₹9,000 crore pellet plant in Odisha (Source: The Hindu Business Line, May 2023). This pellet plant and slurry pipeline is a part of JSW Steel’s larger proposal to have a 13.2 MTPA integrated steel plant in Odisha and will have a capacity of 8 MTPA. Construction of the steel plant is expected to be completed in three years and will be based in Jagatsinghpur district, near Paradeep in Odisha. Clearance on environmental matters has been obtained, but land acquisition and demarcation of boundaries are pending (Source: Biltrax Media, May 2023).

In 2021, JSW Steel acquired Bhushan Power and Steel (BSPL) by paying off its credit – a leading manufacturer of steel products, primarily HR and CR coils, sheets, tor steel, carbon and special alloy steel wire rods among other. It maintains a 3.5 MTPA Greenfield Steel and Power plant in Odisha with hot rolled coil making facility. This is a first of its kind in the state of Odisha.

JSW-BSPL caters to both international and domestic markets, especially for white goods, automotive, telecommunications, power, and steel requirements in construction.

As a group, there are 14 JSW steel plants in India.

List of steel plant in Odisha – Minor players

Apart from the prominent steel plants in Odisha, there are several other players in the market. As per the Department of Steel & Mines (Government of Odisha) website, there are over 49 MoUs that have been signed with national and international steel companies for setting up of new plants in the state.

For more details, please visit: odishaminerals.gov.in/SteelIndustryProfile/StateWideSteelIndustry

Listed below are some of the noteworthy names:

Steel plant in Sambalpur

Steel plant in Dhenkanal

Steel plant in Keonjhar

Steel plant in Jajpur

Building the world’s largest steel plant in Odisha – Upcoming projects

These are some of the prominent steel plants in Odisha with many other small players in the state. As mentioned previously, Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation is in talks with the Odisha government to build the world’s largest steel plant in Odisha. The plant will be built under the joint venture of Arcelor Mittal and Nippon Steel (AMNS India) with an investment of ₹1.02 lakh core. The location would be in Kendrapada and the plant’s capacity is expected to be around 24 MTPA.

The project is estimated to generate employment and infrastructure development in Kendrapada and nearby areas, making Odisha a global steel hub. An estimated timeline of five years has been provided for the project to be completed and begin operations.

It is also estimated that the plant will be modelled on NSC’s steel plant in Kimitsu. It is regarded as one of the most advanced steel production facilities globally, with a dedicated port inside the plant driving trading convenience. (Source: TOI, April 2023).

Author: Sohini Banerjee

Sohini is a seasoned content writer with 12 years’ experience in developing marketing and business content across multiple formats. At Tata nexarc, she leverages her skills in crafting curated content on the Indian MSME sector, steel procurement, and logistics. In her personal time, she enjoys reading fiction and being up-to-date on trends in digital marketing and the Indian business ecosystem.