Steel Authority of India (SAIL) plans to expand the capacity of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) to 9.4 million tonne per annum (MTPA) by 2030. The project, requiring an investment of Rs 30,000 crore, aims to enhance steel supplies to key sectors like defence, oil & gas, and automobiles.

The expansion will cover 1,200 acres on the southeastern side of the plant and will contribute 25 percent to SAIL’s target of 35 MTPA production capacity by 2030. RSP, India’s first public sector steel plant, currently has a capacity of 4.4 MTPA within SAIL’s total production of 20.3 MTPA. The project includes new infrastructure such as a raw material handling plant, coke oven stamp charge battery, sinter plant, thin slab caster-direct rolling, cold rolling mill, silicon mill, and logistics improvements. A new blast furnace and steel melting shop will also be established.

To support logistics, a railway line connecting Dumertra station to RSP is under construction, reducing the load on Bondamunda Yard. This second rail connection is being built by South Eastern Railways under a cost deposit scheme funded by RSP. SAIL, operates five integrated steel plants, including RSP, Durgapur Steel Plant in West Bengal, Burnpur Steel Plant in West Bengal, Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh, and Bokaro Steel Plant in Jharkhand.