The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has announced to set up its steel plant in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. This information was divulged by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Friday (January 24). The proposed steel plant will come at Gangath village of Kangra district. It is expected to produce 120,000 tonnes of steel rods, wire drawings and corrugated sheets annually. The plant will use thermo-mechanical treatment technology for production of units in Himachal Pradesh.

 

SAIL's plant was supposed to come up much earlier but dispute over the location of the project delayed the operations. The state government earlier turned down company's proposal to set up the plant in Sirmaur district. The government said that it will not be able to provide land and power to the company in Sirmaur. The Steel authority has planned to invest Rs.1.06 billion (Rs.106 crore) in Himachal Pradesh.

 

The leading steel-making company of India, SAIL is engaged in manufacturing steel and iron for domestic construction, engineering, power, railway, automotive and defence industries. It also exports its production to other countries. The public sector enterprise of India, SAIL has a well-equipped Research and Development Centre for Iron and Steel (RDCIS) at Ranchi. It owns integrated steel plants in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand.