Bhubaneswar: Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) that had to curtail production in Q1 of the current financial year because of Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has bounced back with renewed vigour in the Q2.
In the July-September 2020 period while battling with the Covid-19 pandemic the steel plant has produced 9,67,700 tonne of Hot Metal, 9,22,713 tonne of crude steel and 8,65,103 tonne of saleable steel registering growth of 17.6 per cent 16.1 per cent and 19.2 per cent respectively as compared to the corresponding period last year (CPLY).
The Total HR Coil production has seen a year on year (YoY) growth of 16.6 per cent while the rolling of plates from New Plate Mill rose by 14.2 per cent over CPLY. The same trend could be seen in other Mills too.
YoY growth in GP/GC production was 9.8 per cent while for ERW pipes SW pipes and CRNO Coil it was 18.6 per cent 33.3 per cent and 35.2 per cent respectively.
The steel plant has also notched up best September performance on several fronts including the key areas like production of hot metal, crude steel and saleable steel.
Out of this Blast Furnace-5 has produced 2,19,195 tonne thereby clocking 110.7 per cent of its target. Sinter production and plates rolling from New Plate Mill were also highest for any September since inception. Besides, both the pipe plants viz. ERW pipe plant and SW Pipe Plant have achieved 133.6 per cent and 105.5 per cent of their targets respectively.
RSP too has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the plant is making every kind of effort to keep its employees and their family members safe from the virus, and also to keep the employees’ morale high.
Intensive sanitization and sensitization campaigns are going on both in the steel plant as well as the in the Steel Township in this regards. Besides every possible support is being provided to the employees and their family members in terms of testing and medical care in case they get infected.
RSP is the first PSU Steel Plant to set up a Covid testing centre and plasma bank for containment and treatment of the highly infectious disease. The employees in turn are exhibiting extraordinary commitment by not allowing the performance of the plant hampered due to the pandemic.