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SAIL Inaugurates New Slab Caster Complex at Bhilai
07/15/2009 - SAIL celebrates the dedication of a new 0.8-million tonne slab caster complex in Bhilai Steel Plant’s SMS-II, and lays the foundation stone for a new 4-million tonne per year SMS-III complex, also at Bhilai Steel Plant.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) celebrated this week the dedication of a new 0.8-million tonne Slab Caster Complex in Bhilai Steel Plant’s SMS-II. The company also held a ceremony for laying the foundation stone for a new 4-million tonne per year SMS-III complex, also at Bhilai Steel Plant.
The new slab caster complex was installed at a sanctioned expenditure of over Rs. 520 crore. In addition to the new caster, the complex in SMS-II also includes a 130-tonne ladle furnace and a 130-tonne RH degasser. In addition to further enhancing Bhilai’s steelmaking capabilities, the new caster is to allow the facility to produce superior-quality slabs, especially of API 65 and IPI 90 grade steel. The new caster will also help to facilitate replacement and modernization of existing casters and make way for additional steel production of 0.165 million tonnes per annum.
Commencement of structural work of the SMS-III complex, which is expected to cost around Rs. 3,500 crore, is seen as providing fresh momentum to Bhilai Steel Plant’s modernization and expansion plan. The project will help the facility to produce clean steel of superior quality with environment-friendly and energy-efficient technology, with 100% of steel production through the concast route.
Scheduled to be completed by December 2011, SMS-III will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and modern quality control systems. Facilities will include a basic oxygen furnace shop complex with three 160-tonne converters with an annual capacity of 4.11 million tonnes, as well as a continuous casting plant with four casters with a combined total annual capacity of 4 million tonnes.
Hon'ble Union Minister for Steel Shri Virbhadra Singh dedicated SAIL’s new slab caster complex at Bhilai Steel Plant and also laid the foundation stone for the plant’s new SMS-III complex. Shri Singh, presently in Bhilai on his maiden visit, was accompanied by SAIL Chairman Shri S.K. Roongta as well as Shri George Elias, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel for the Govt. of India.
Addressing members of the Bhilai collective after his arrival, Shri Singh congratulated them for their excellent performance and work culture. Shri Singh expressed hope that as SAIL’s flagship plant, Bhilai Steel Plant would lead the way in faster implementation of the company’s massive modernization and expansion plan. The plant is currently implementing a program to achieve hot metal production capacity enhancement to 7.5 million tonnes per annum.
The Steel Minister also acknowledged the contribution of the country’s first Prime Minister, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, whose visionary leadership provided the country with steel and hydro-electric projects and a scientific temperament.
Shri Singh also commended Bhilai for having won the Prime Minister’s Trophy for best integrated steel plant in the country seven times. Describing to the audience the Government’s ambitious growth plans for the Indian steel industry as well as his Ministry’s plan of action to ensure the domestic industry’s global competitiveness, Singh urged the on-time completion of all expansion and modernization projects.
Addressing the collective, SAIL Chairman Shri Roongta congratulated those present for their excellent performance in 2008-09 despite the recession in second half of the fiscal year. He noted that the Bhilai facility has been a leader in both performance and work culture.
