PM to inaugurate Rs 2k-cr Salem Steel expansion today

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Chennai, Sept 4: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the Rs 2,000-crore expansion projects of Salem Steel Plant (SSP) in Salem on Friday. The projects include the much-awaited 1.80 lakh-tonne capacity steel melting shop (SMS) and expansion of the cold rolling mill from 65,000 tonne to 1.46 lakh tonne, and installation of additional roll grinder at the hot rolling mill (HRM).

The board of directors of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) had approved the proposal for setting up a steel melting shop and other facilties at Salem in June 2006, as part of its Corporate Plan 2012.

Absence of a steel melting shop and total dependence on external sources for steel had been hampering the viability of SSP and its sustainable growth.

According to SAIL sources, the major raw materials for the steel melting shop - mild steel scrap, revert scrap, nickel and ferro alloys - will be sourced from outside. It will produce stainless steel slabs in 200, 300 and 400 series grades in thickness ranging from 140 mm to 200 mm, 600 mm to 1300 mm in width, and a maximum length of 10.5 metre. The average slab weight will be15 tonne.

The inbuilt annual capacity of 1.86 lakh tonne of the hot rolling mill would be enhnaced to 2.40 lakh tonne with internal improvements and to 3.70 lakh tonne with the installation of another roll grinder.

The input for HRM will be from SSP (1.8 lakh tonne) and Alloy Steel Plant of SAIL (1.90 lakh tonne).

SSP's cold rolling capacity is 65,000 tonne and has about 5,000 tonne of hot rolled annealed and pickled material. They will be expanded to 1.46 lakh tonne of cold rolled products and 1.93 lakh tonne of hot rolled annealed and pickled coils.

The additional facilities proposed to be installed in the CRM are: Hot annealing & pickling line (500,000 tonne), 20-hi Sendzimir mill (1,10,000 tonne), coil preparation line (50,000 tonne), skin pass mill (100,000 tonne), slitting line (70,000 tonne), rotary polisher (1,000 tonne), tension levelling line (70,000 tonne) and acid recovery system.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in Chennai at 10.45 in the morning. He will proceed to the Madras University where he will be honoured with a doctorate degree. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunandihi and the Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi also will receive honorary doctorate degree.