Rourkela Steel Plant's Caster-4 plan 'uneconomical'

ROURKELA: At a time when Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is facing financial stress, opinions are divided over setting up Caster-4 at the Steel Melting Shop (SMS)-2 at a whopping cost of Rs 950 crore.

Experts opine that instead of going for a new one, the existing Caster-1 and 2 should be revamped and upgraded at half the cost.

The public sector steel-maker is planning for Caster-4 at SMS-2 with a capacity of one million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to absorb an additional 0.4 MTPA of liquid steel envisaged for future.

The experts said the Caster-4 is estimated to cost between Rs 780 and Rs 800 crore with additional cost of nearly Rs150 crore in enabling activities.

They dismissed the proposal as uneconomical and said RSP cannot afford to work in luxury with the assumption of future consumption of liquid steel.

They pointed out that a feasibility report was prepared by CET, Ranchi in 2012 to revamp the capacity of Caster-1 and 2 to absorb the additional casting requirement from Basic Oxygen Furnaces and the estimated expenditure was envisaged at around Rs 330 crore.

However, the RSP management had turned it down citing it would require shutdown of individual Caster for 45 days causing production loss.

The existing Caster-3 with vertical mould is capable to cater to the production requirement of higher grades of steel while after revamping the Caster-1 and 2, it could be utilised to meet requirements of other grades of steel for many years to come, they added.

They said even if vertical mould is essential, both Caster-1 and 2 can be fully dismantled for revamping which would avoid the enabling cost to great extent.

They said it seems that the proposal is aimed at benefiting a consortium of suppliers lobbying for long. 

Among other things, it is apprehended that in order to create space for Caster-4, displacement of existing structures and facilities would be inevitable with heavy cost.

It would need additional expenditure of around Rs 450 crore to create facilities for handling more steel and also hinder future modernisation of SMS-2.

They claimed that the JSW at Raigarh has successfully revamped their casters with 30 days’ shutdown. 
General secretary of Rourkela Ispat Karkhana Karmachari Sangh, RSP’s recognised trade union, HS Bal said the first priority of SAIL should be pay revision and for future requirement, Caster-4 would be better option than revamping existing casters.

In the backdrop of recent upgradation and modernisation of about Rs 12,000 crore, the RSP targets to pay interest of Rs 633.35 crore in 2019-20 while the figure would substantially rise once the ongoing New Hot Strip Mill at a cost of nearly Rs 2,500 crore starts work. 

Defending the proposals, RSP management sources said Caster-1 and 2 can produce maximum of 1550 mm width slab even after upgradation.

The requirement of New Hot Strip Mill in the wider section is more than what can be fulfilled through Caster- 3 (after catering to new plate mill).

Caster-4 will fulfil the demand and also increase flexibility. Similarly, revamping each Caster would take 45 days shutdown against the requirement of eight days for the proposed Caster-4, they added.