SAIL may setup Steel Plant in Rajasthan

India's biggest state-owned steelmaker, Steel Authority of India, is looking at the possibility of setting up a 2 million tonne per annum (mtpa) greenfield plant at Bhilwara in Rajasthan. The company could make an investment of a whopping Rs. 10,000 crore for the expansion. Discovery of around 500 mt of iron ore was notified in Bhilwara way back in 1967. Not many companies have come forward mainly because the ore that had been discovered in this area is of magnetite grade and would yield just about 30-35% recovery. Sources say that in order to draw higher interest from SAIL, which has put a target of doubling capacity in the next four years, the Rajasthan government has also assured linkages to limestone from Jaisalmer and dolomite from Jodhpur.
While SAIL is in the process of conducting ground survey in Bhilwara, it’s the Rajasthan government that seems to be really lobbying hard for the project. A project of this magnitude will help generate lot of economic activities in the area, which has been so far considered extremely backward. It will also put Rajasthan on the country's steel map.