SAIL’s Rourkela plant’s post again
Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of Maharatna company Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), has recorded its best ever performance in 2025-26, achieving record production across key production units and setting new benchmarks in techno-economic efficiency.
Sources said the plant has recorded its highest ever performance in blast furnace operations in April-March, with both Blast Furnaces-1 and 5 recording maximum production levels. Blast Furnace-1 produced 10.7 lakh tonnes of hot metal, while Blast Furnace-5 achieved production of 32.46 lakh tonnes, surpassing its previous production of 31.32 lakh tonnes in the same period of the last financial year.
Downstream units also recorded strong profits due to better capacity utilization and operational stability. The new plate mill recorded an all-time high production of over 9.93 lakh tonnes with a growth rate of 6.6 per cent. Hot Strip Mill-2 (HSM-2) produced 26.7 lakh tonnes of HR coil with its best ever performance, an increase of 4.3 per cent over the previous financial year.
The new sheet shearing line under HSM-2 emerged as a standout performer, registering a production of 3.14 lakh tonnes of HR plates, showing a sharp growth of 18.7 per cent year-on-year.
It is noteworthy that the Special Plate Plant of the plant, which caters to the needs of the defense sector, has achieved the highest ever production of 3,905 tonnes of special plates, surpassing the previous record of 3,366 tonnes set in 2017-18. This milestone is particularly significant given the strategic relevance of special steel in defense manufacturing.
Of the total salable steel production, Rourkela Steel Plant produced 41.65 lakh tonnes during FY26, higher than the production of 40.80 lakh tonnes last year and registering a steady growth of 2.1 per cent.
Apart from production volumes, the plant also set new records in several techno-economic parameters. The year saw the best ever achievements in coke rate, blast furnace productivity and coal-to-hot metal ratio. Steel Melting Shop-2 recorded its highest ever total metal input, while also making significant gains in reducing specific power and water consumption.
Steel plant officials attributed the strong performance to strict operational discipline, efficient resource utilization and continued focus on cost optimization. He expressed confidence of achieving higher production and efficiency targets in the current financial year, with renewed emphasis on new product development, inventory reduction, revenue maximization and better utilization of industrial waste to strengthen profitability.
“The record-breaking performance of Rourkela Steel Plant not only strengthens its position within SAIL’s operational framework, but also signals broader momentum in India’s steel sector due to capacity addition, technological upgradation and growing domestic demand,” an RSP spokesperson said.
