RSP expansion work to be over by Dec: SAIL

Bhubaneswar: The ambitious expansion work of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) aimed at raising its capacity from 2 MTPA to 4.5 MTPA with an investment of Rs 16,000 crore is likely to be completed by the end of this year, Chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) Chandrasekhar Verma said on Saturday.

Verma, who was talking to reporters after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here, said as part of the ongoing expansion and modernisation, a new state-of-the-art blast furnace is being constructed at the RSP, a unit of the public sector steel behemoth SAIL.

"The new blast furnace will enable the steel plant to raise its capacity to 4.5 mtpa from the existing 2 mtpa," Verma said during his meeting with the chief minister. The SAIL Chairman also agreed to consider proposals made by state government for upgradation of RSP's Ispat General Hospital (IGH) and setting up of a medical college there, official sources said.

During the discussion, the chief minister suggested that expenditure for RSP's peripheral area development be enhanced by the steel major. Patnaik also sought the public sector steel company's cooperation in mid-day meal programmes in schoold located in Rourkela municipality area.