Sanguine about the steel sector’s prospects within and an unfolding opportunity in the export markets, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) will raise its installed production capacity more than fivefold to 50 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030-31 from nine mtpa now at an investment of around Rs 2 trillion.

While a 6.3 mtpa capacity expansion is currently underway at its Angul facility in Odisha for completion by 2024-25, the company will take up further expansion at the facility to 25.2 mtpa by 2030-31.

At its Raigarh unit in Chhattisgarh, JSPL will raise capacity to 12.6 mtpa from 3.6 mtpa now by 2030-31. The work on expansion will start by 2025 and be completed by 2027. The work on a greenfield facility of 6 mtpa capacity in Andhra Pradesh will also start by 2025. The company has plans to set up another greenfield facility of 6 mtpa capacity in the east or southeast part of the country. It is also open to acquisition provided it proves to be a strategic fit.

“All our proposed expansions will cost around Rs 2 trillion. The fund should not be a constraint for us. Our net debt now stands below Rs 10,000 crore. We are on course to become a net debt zero company by next year,” JSPL’s managing director V R Sharma told FE in an interview.

However, he said all these expansions would depend upon the raw material security and other necessary support required from the government such as ports, dedicated railway lines, environment clearance, land availability and energy availability like coal etc

JSPL has captive coal mines in Africa, Australia & Mozambique and presently about 35% of the steel is produced out of company-owned mines overseas. Similarly, about 8 million tonne (MT) of iron ore is available from the captive sources annually, the balance is purchased from state-run firms or the open market.

Sharma said, going forward, JSPL would produce half of its steel through the direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) route, aimed at addressing the CO2 footprint. The DRI will be based on syngas produced from domestic coal.

Sharma said apart from the burgeoning demand for steel in the domestic market, thanks to the government’s thrust on building infrastructure, the future for Indian steel in the export market is also very promising due to China’s production cut. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has also created a demand-supply imbalance in the international market which will take years to rebuild.

“India exported a little over 13 MT finished steel and seven MT of semis or pig iron last fiscal. In the next 10 years or so, it will go up to around 40 MT. While our share in the export kitty was around 2.6 MT last fiscal, it should go up to eight MT by 2030-31,” Sharma said.