Bhubaneswar: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS India), a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, has become the largest single-location pelletisation complex in the country with the commissioning of its second six million tonne per annum (MTPA) pellet plant at Paradip in Odisha.
The plant doubles production capacity to 12 million tonne, making it the largest single-location pelletisation complex in the country, the company said in a statement.
Terming it as an important milestone amid COVID pandemic, AMNS India CEO Dilip Oommen said, “We aim to achieve domestic steel production capacity of 300 MT in the coming decade. AMNS India will continue investing in Odisha, a promising hub for steel production. We are now sincerely planning for a greenfield steel plant in the state.”
Chief Operating Officer Wim Van Gerven said, “Paradip’s pellet plant II will produce superior quality directly reduced iron grade pellets for domestic steel production.”
In December 2019, the world’s largest steelmaker had completed the acquisition of Essar Steel India Limited (ESIL) and simultaneously established AMNS India, a joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation (Nippon Steel), for operating ESIL. The management had then planned to ramp up steel-making capacity at the plant to 12-15 MTPA from the current 9.6 MTPA.
Besides 12 MTPA at Paradip, AMNS India has 8 MTPA pellet production unit at Vishakhapatnam. Plans are afoot to up pellet-making capacity to 20 MTPA by 2022, the company sources said.