The SAIL Board of Directors today gave in-principle approval for two projects ÔÇô Revamping of Sinter Plant-2 in Bhilai Steel Plant and Installation of Air Turbo Compressor and Oxygen Turbo Compressor at Oxygen Plant in Bokaro Steel Plant ÔÇô at a total indicative cost of more than Rs 180 crore.
With this, the total planned investment in different projects approved, both in-principle and final, during the current financial year stands at over Rs 2,500 crore. These projects form a part of SAILÔÇÖs corporate plan, which aims at enhancing the companyÔÇÖs hot metal production from the current level of 13 million tonne (MT) per annum to 20 MT by 2011-12 at a total estimated investment of Rs 25,000 crore.
The revamping of Sinter Plant-2 will enable Bhilai Steel Plant to increase the annual production of sinter from the present level of 2.5 MT to 3.1 MT and help improve the quality of sinter as well. This will also contribute to additional production of around 77,000 tonnes of pig iron from the three sinter making units of Bhilai Steel Plant. The increased sinter burden is also expected to enhance the productivity of blast furnaces, effecting a substantial reduction in the cost of sinter production and coke rate. The significant benefit will, however, accrue from the installation of electrostatic precipitators in all the four sinter machines of Sinter Plant-2, which will further reduce the present level of stack emission to below the permissible level of 100 mg/Nm3.
The installation of one air turbo compressor and one oxygen turbo compressor at BokaroÔÇÖs Oxygen Plant will help meet the enhanced requirement of compressed air to augment oxygen production. This has become necessary due to the ongoing thrust on implementing auxiliary fuel injection methods such as coal dust or tar injection facilities in all the blast furnaces. The requirement of oxygen will further increase with the enhancement of oxygen enrichment in all the blast furnaces.
The major projects under implementation in different units of SAIL include installation of bloom caster at Durgapur Steel Plant (Rs 271 crore), upgradation of ERW Pipe Plant (Rs 89 crore), rebuilding of coke oven battery (Rs 112 crore) and capital repair of Blast Furnace # 4 (Rs 118 crore) at Rourkela Steel Plant, rebuilding of coke oven battery (Rs 219 crore), upgradation of blast furnace including gas cleaning plant (Rs 170 crore) as well as Wire Rod Mill (Rs 75 crore) and Plate Mill (Rs 64 crore) at Bhilai, rebuilding of coke oven battery (Rs 199 crore) at Bokaro and installation of AOD facilities (Rs 54 crore) at Alloy Steels Plant. SAILÔÇÖs Rs 320-crore Long Rail project at Bhilai has recently been completed.