Tata Steel Kalinganagar plant commissioning to be delayed.

Tata Steel, which projected to commission the first 3 million tonne steel capacity of its Kalinganagar plant in Odisha in March, 2015, is unlikely to roll out finished steel from the project before the end of the current fiscal.

With about 20 per cent project work still pending and work on some of the key components like blast furnace, sinter, steel melting shop and hot strip mill yet to be completed, the commissioning of the project will be delayed by about a year, sources said.

Tata Steel managing director, TV Narendran had set the March, 2015 deadline in September, last year. This was after shifting the poll several times by his predecessors. In July, 2011, then Tata Steel MD, HN Nerurkar had said, the project will go on stream in February, 2014. He later revised the deadline to August, 2014.

Tata Steel had signed MoU with the Odisha government for setting up 6 million tonne steel plant at Kalinganagar in November, 2004 at an estimated cost of Rs. 15,400 crore. But due to agitation by the land losers, which even led to a police firing in January, 2006, claiming lives of 14 agitators, the work could not be taken up on the project till about 2010. Due to delay in implementation of the project, the project cost for the first phase comprising 3 million tonne steel capacity, has mounted to Rs. 25,164 crore. Out of this, about Rs. 20,000 crore has been grounded till now, said the company spokesperson.


BS