India: NMDC to start Nagarnar steel plant BF ops by month-end, HRC production from mid-Aug

In a key development, production of the first lot of hot rolled coils for commercial sales is set to start at the NMDC-owned Nagarnar Integrated Steel Plant (NISP) from 15 August, 2023, reliable sources informed SteelMint.

Importantly, the much-awaited operation of the blast furnace is slated to start from the end of July, it was further learnt.

It may be recalled, MECON had been appointed as the entity for commissioning the plant.

"The plant is expected to be integrated from middle of August, with the production of the hot rolled coils," said a source. The plant had rolled out its first batch of hot rolled coils on a trial basis in end-June.

The HSM has a total capacity of 2.90 million tonnes (mnt).

Earlier, operation of coke oven battery No. 2 (COB2) started in the third week of April while the first COB was commissioned in late October last year.

The 3-mntpa plant will have a product mix that includes pig iron, HR coils/plates/sheets of various specifications, automotive steel and other items.

The 3-mntpa NISP, located at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh, is being built at an investment of INR 20,000 crore. The government, last year, approved the demerger of NISP from NMDC into a separate company, NMDC Steel Limited. The process of due diligence of NMDC Steel will commence shortly, as per reports.