Kalinga Nagar: Tata Steel is getting ready to commence "integrated, commercial production" of the first phase of the 3-million tonne steel plant in Odisha by September and is keen to keep the project cost below the projected Rs 25,000 crore.
"Integrated commissioning of all units for the first phase will take another six months. Project cost remains within the revised budget and even it could (be) lower," Tata Steel V-P Operations (Odisha) Rajiv Kumar said.
The company is gradually synchronising integrated steel plant components like blast furnace, coke oven, sinter plant, captive power units and hot rolling, among others in stages, he said.
The timeline and cost was revised in 2011 in the wake of delay in land acquisition, which has pushed back the project by four years.
Kumar did not share the cost of the original project, the MoU of which was signed with the Odisha government a decade ago.
With the Kalinga Nagar first phase, capacity of the steel major is expected to go up to 13 mt in India.
Kumar indicated that demand and market scenario could play a big role in construction of the second phase.