Tata Steel plans 3 MT blast furnace at Jamshedpu

Tata Steel today announced setting up of a new blast furnace at its Jamshedpur works unit as part of the Rs 14,000 crore (US$2.884 Billion) brownfield expansion to augment its production capacity to 10 million tonne (MT) in over two years. The I-blast furnace, which would have a capacity to make 3.05 million tonne of hot metal per annum, is likely to be commissioned by November 2010, the company said. "It is a project about productivity and a project aimed at making Jamshedpur, the best steel producing site," Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman said. The new blast furnace will be designed, supplied, erected and commissioned by a consortium of companies, including PW Italia, L&T, PW India and PW Luxembourg. Worlds sixth largest steel producer Tata Steel has undertaken brownfield expansion to enhance its production capacity to 10.5 million tons by 2010.