The groundbreaking ceremony for expansion to 10 MTPA capacity of Jamshedpur works of Tata Steel was performed inside the Works premises today by Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director - Tata Steel. Also present on the occasion were Mr. H M Nerurkar, Chief Operating Officer (Steel) - Tata Steel, Mr. Raghunth Pandey, President - Tata Workers Union, Mr. R P Singh, Vice President (Engineering Services and Projects) - Tata Steel, Senior Officers of Tata Steel and office bearers of Tata Workers Union. The project is expected to be completed by December 2010.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director - Tata Steel said, "Though there are many challenges involved in this project, I am confident that the project will be managed efficiently. In December 2010, when the project will be completed, Jamshedpur will become the single largest unit and one of the most modern plants in the World. With the completion of this project, we will be able to fulfill the promises made to our customers even better."

Mr. Raghunath Pandey, President - Tata Workers Union said, "We have always been with the Company in its progress and prosperity. We must ensure the progress of this project takes place in the safest manner."

This groundbreaking ceremony is a step by Tata Steel towards expanding its existing facility in Jamshedpur. This will lay the foundation for Tata Steel to ramp up its production capacity in Jamshedpur to 10 MT. The following facilities will be developed as a part of the 10 MT expansion project -

1. Augmentation of Mines

2. Pellet Plant of 6 MTPA

3. Expansion of Hooghly Metcoke from 1.2 to 1.6 MTPA

4. Raw material handling facilities

5. Up gradation of existing A-E furnaces

6. New LD3 BOF Shop with 2 X 160 t Converters

7. Two single strand thin slab caster of 1.2 MTPA capacity each with 2.4 MTPA hot rolling facilities

8. Augmentation of LD2 to 4.0 MTPA

9. New lime calcining plant

10. Augmentation of Utilities & Water System

11. Augmentation of Power Generation & Power System

12. Logistics and Improvement of Town roads

About Tata Steel

Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel in 2006 on a combined basis is the world's sixth largest steel producer in terms of actual crude steel production with geographic footprints in India, South East Asia, UK and Europe. With the recent acquisition of Corus Limited, the combined enterprise has an aggregate crude steel production capacity of around 28.1 million tonnes with approximately 82,700 employees across the four continents.

To fulfill its objective of Growth and Globalisation, the 5 MT per annum (MTPA) Jamshedpur Works is gearing up to double its capacity by December 2010. The Company is making steady progress on its three Greenfield steel projects in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, to add 23 million tonnes to its present capacity. It also plans to set up steel making capacities in Vietnam, Iran and Bangladesh.