By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 02 April, 2022: Jindal Steel & Power (JSP) bagged Utkal B1 & B2 Coal block in the Angul-Talcher Coal belt.

Added with the coal reserve of Utkal C, JSP has secured sufficient reserves of Coal to enable the mega steel company to enhance its capacity for green steel making.

JSP is the first steelmaker in the world to build Coal Gasification/DRI to produce Steel using clean coal technologies.

Greeting the people of Odisha on the eve of Utkal Divas Shri Jindal said, “We won the Utkal B1 & B2 Coal Block on 17th Punya Tithi of Shri OP Jindal Ji who had a vision of using indigenous coal to make steel. This will help us to translate the shared dream of Bauji and legendary leader Biju Patnaik ji to a reality and bring prosperity to Odisha through value addition of natural resources and industrialization”.

“Odisha is our karmabhoomi and we are firmly committed to its overall development. Aligning with Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik ji’s vision of Industry-led holistic prosperity, we will make the World’s largest single-location steelmaking complex at Angul, Odisha by 2030,” he added in a tweet.

The High-Level Clearance Authority of Odisha, headed by Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik, had approved JSP’s proposal to expand the capacity of its steel plant to 25.2 MTPA at Angul by 2030. This would be the world’s largest and greenest single-location steel plant, thus pitching Odisha’s USP on the global steel map.

The capacity expansion is expected to increase JSP’s investment in Odisha to more than ₹1,25,000 crores from ₹ 45,000 crores at present. This is also expected to generate enormous economic activity and employment opportunities in the State, a Company press release said.

The coal gasification route, also known as an environment-friendly technology, would be helpful in producing steel using indigenous coal, leading towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

This would reduce dependency on imported coking coal and save huge foreign reserves. The coal gasification technology can also help India to overcome the perennial shortage of Oil, Gas, Methanol, Ammonia, and Urea.