Visakhapatnam: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, has achieved a milestone by commissioning the fifth coke oven battery.
A coke oven battery consists of multiple ovens wherein coal is crushed and blended before being charged in an oven.
India’s shore-based integrated steel plant popular under the brand name of Vizag Steel, formally commissioned the coke oven battery No.5 (COB5) with the first coke pushing done by P K Rath, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of RINL, in the presence of Atul Bhatt, CMD, MECON.
RINL, a Government of India owned company is diversifying its products. It is expanding its market to South East Asia and the Middle East. The company is in talks with Korean multinational POSCO for setting up a Greenfield high-end steel factory on its premises at Ukkunagaram to cater to the needs of the automobile industry.
RINL had clocked a turnover of Rs.15,800 crore during 2019-20. Vizag Steel has an annual capacity to produce 7.3 million tonnes.
The COB5 project was envisaged with a total cost of about Rs.2500 crore. Principal consultant for the project is M/s MECON and the principal contractors are M/s BEC Consortium and M/s Tata Projects Limited.
The battery could be first-charged with coal on December 21 and all the 67 ovens were charged within 24 hrs.
“This is a unique achievement. The first pushing was completed on 2 December 22, marking the commissioning of COB5-a momentous event for Vizag Steel,” a RINL spokesman told siasat.com on Wednesday.