SAIL has commenced operations of two major modernisation units - a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and a plate mill - in its steel plant at Rourkela, in Sundargarh district of Odisha.

With commissioning of the new 150 tonne BOF and one million tpa plate mill, all the major facilities under the modernisation and expansion programme at the unit have been operationalised.

Following the expansion, the hot metal production capacity at the Rourkela steel plant will increase from two million tpa to 4.5 million tpa. The company is investing Rs 11,812 crore in the plant.

Further, the company is exploring options for expanding the Rourkela steel project to 10.8 million tpa, as part of its plan to attain a capacity of 50 million tpa hot metal by 2025. For the purpose, SAIL has already tendered out plans like the three million tpa hot strip mill and the beneficiation and pelletisation plant.