Essar Steel makes history - Part 1

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Essar Group, Mr Shashi Ruia, said "We would like to dedicate this plant to the nation. When I first ventured into Hazira, it was my desire to put India on the global steel map and today that dream has come true. Our world-class steel complex is a testament to the hard work put in by the Essar family and our small contribution to the steel industry and India's growth story."

Essar Steel, with plants in Canada, USA, India and Indonesia producing 14 million tpa steel, is among the world's most versatile flat steel producer with integrated facilities for flat carbon steel, pipes and extra wide plates, as well as hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and colour-coated steel.

New standards of efficiency
The plant, with a manufacturing capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA), has been completed at a total cost of INR 37,500 crore; this includes a 1.5-million TPA plate mill and a 0.6-million tpa pipe mill. With this expansion, the complex is able to offer the entire range of flat products from thin strips and thick plates to pipes, cold rolled and coated products. The plant is a critical component of India's Vision 2020 that envisages a steel manufacturing capacity of 200 million tpa.

Essar Group CEO Prashant Ruia discusses Essar Steel's landmark achievement:
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Essar Projects, which undertook the turnkey construction project for Essar Steel, also completed it in record time. Moreover, it has constructed associated facilities in Hazira, including an all-weather port with a cargo handling capacity of 30 million tpa, two power plants with an annual capacity of 1,015 MW, oxygen and lime plants, a fabrication facility, and a self contained township in nearby Jamnagar. In addition, Essar has invested in an 18-mtpa refinery.

The steel plant is a crucial element in making Gujarat a global industrial hub catering to the needs of capital and consumable goods, particularly in the shipbuilding and automobile sectors.

Transport efficiencies
Being a port based plant, it is strategically well located for steel exports. Being on India's western coast, shipping to the West Asian / Middle East countries can be at rock bottom prices, at freight rates of as little as USD 20-22 per tonne. Domestically too, it is well connected to various industrial centres. Essar has the largest steel retail distribution network, particularly targeting sectors such as automotives, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding.

The sea route also makes sourcing iron ore from Odisha and Chattisgarh easier and cheaper, with a 20-million tonne pelletization and beneficiation unit feeding the plant. Apart from utilising low grade iron ore at rock bottom prices, it cuts down the freight cost by 50 per cent.