NEW DELHI: Jindal Steel & Power Ltd will ramp up its steel plants in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Oman during the next quarter as the company expects a boost in steel demand in India and globally, with domestic market expected to grow by 5-6 per cent.
“The momentum that we built in second and third quarters has been kept… essentially because of the kind of pull we are witnessing in the market -- both domestic and export looks promising,” Ravi Uppal, managing director of JSPL, told Express.
He said that the outlook is very positive with prices also going up for steel, which means industrial realisation will improve. Uppal also attributed the positive outlook to the global market for steel. In the first six months, the global steel market has grown by 1.8 per cent and global production went up by 4.8 per cent.
“It is good news…for JSPL as even the domestic market has grown by 4.5 per cent in the first three months. Exports in the first quarter are up by 66 per cent and imports are down by 9 per cent,” said Uppal. Last week, JSPL had commissioned 6 tonnes per annum plant at Angul, Odisha and thus has operationalised India’s largest Blast Furnace.
“We are producing 5,000 tonnes a day of hot metal and gradually it will go up to 10,000 tonnes a day in the next 3-4 months. It will ramp up the JSPL volume,” said Uppal. He is confident that this project in Odisha will be a major contributor to the company’s overall revenue. “Currently, our steel delivery is about 3,50,000 tonnes a month. With this Angul project, we expect to contribute 600,000 tonnes per month by the end of this fiscal year,” he said.
Its Oman project has also shown traction with the company becoming the largest supplier of Thermo Mechanically Treated steel bars in Oman market and the second largest in UAE and Gulf states. The company has already employed 5,000 people at the Angul project and expects to help more in terms of indirect employment. The project in Odisha is expected to generate 5 million tonnes of steel by the end of July 2018.
Jindal’s production capacity
The company is producing 5,000 tonnes a day of hot metal and gradually it will go up to 10,000 tonnes a day in the next 3-4 months. Currently, the steel delivery is about 3,50,000 tonnes a month. With the Angul project, the company expects to contribute 600,000 tonnes per month by the end of this fiscal year. The project in Odisha is expected to generate 5 million tonnes of steel by the end of July 2018.