Visakhapatnam Steel Plant’s future hinges on boosting production levels, say officials

The survival and long-term viability of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited–Visakhapatnam Steel Plant depends squarely on raising production levels, said Abhijit Narendra and Daya Nidhan Pandey, Joint Secretaries in the Ministry of Steel, according to an official release.

The Joint Secretaries and the CMD reiterated that further financial support from the Centre is unlikely and stressed that meeting production targets is vital for the plant’s future. They said VSP must reach 19,000 tonnes of hot metal production per day, ensuring 92.5% capacity utilisation.

During their visit to the plant, they interacted with employees in three sessions at the Learning and Development Centre auditorium along with RINL CMD (additional charge) Ajit Kumar Saxena. Nearly 1,000 employees attended the meeting, where a presentation was made on the current operational and financial status of RINL.

According to the release, the Joint Secretaries noted that VSP had earlier operated with only one blast furnace, achieving around 30% production until September last year. With financial support from the Centre, two blast furnaces were revived, putting the plant on a recovery path.

They expressed concern that production has not picked up after the restart of the third blast furnace and has, in fact, declined this month. Production stability remains an issue, and repeated conveyor breakdowns have emerged as a major worry. They pointed out that the nature of recent breakdowns suggests they may not be solely due to poor maintenance or workmanship, and the possibility of deliberate sabotage cannot be ruled out.

The Joint Secretaries visited the sites of the recent conveyor failures, accompanied by the CMD, Visakhapatnam District Collector Harendhira Prasad and Commissioner of Police Shankha Bratha Bagchi.

They cautioned that intentional damage, if any, would invite strict action and urged employees to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the concerned departments. They said employees must take ownership of the equipment and ensure its proper upkeep. CC cameras would be installed wherever required, and lighting would be improved to prevent such incidents in future.