Tata Steel to double production

Tata Steel on Friday said it would double its annual domestic production capacity to 10 million tonnes by 2010, by when its three greenfield projects and brownfield expansion of Jamshedpur plant are expected to be completed.

Addressing a video conference from London, Tata Steel managing director B Muthuraman said the company had placed orders for equipment for its greenfield project in Orissa, while land acquisition was in the initial and preliminary stages for the plants in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

He said the first phase of 3 mtpa of the Orissa project would be completed by the third quarter of 2009.

Muthuraman also said as a strategy of global expansion, Tata Steel was looking at companies in iron ore, coal and gas-rich countries like Bangladesh and Iran.

The company, which at present has five million tonne capacity, will see capacity go up to 23.5 mt consequent to acquisition of UK-based Corus.