Tata Steel is likely to commission the first phase of its six million tonne (MT) plant in Odisha by March 2015.

“We have completed the 3 MT expansion in Jamshedpur, taking our capacity in Jamshedpur to 10 MT and should commission the first phase of our 6 MT steel plant in Kalinganagar in Odisha towards the end of the next financial year,” Managing Director, Tata Steel India & SEA T V Narendran said today in a statement.

The work on the first phase of the project, entailing an investment of the Rs 25,164 crore is in full swing. As per information, the plant is the largest ongoing single location investment with the first integrated greenfield project for the company outside Jamshedpur.

The 6 MT project is divided into two units of 3 MT each and will produce flat steel products for the automobile industry.

Stating that the company is bullish on long term growth prospects, Narendran said it would continue to invest in building new facilities and capabilities.

Describing the year challenging, he said despite slowdown in steel consumption the company could grow up to 12 per cent over last year.

“It has been a challenging year for Tata Steel as our expansion in capacity has coincided with a slowdown in the steel consuming sectors like automotive and construction.

However, as we have opened up new market segments like the SME segment and also further leveraged our existing customer relationships & distribution network, we have grown at 10 to 12 per cent over last year which is much better than the market,” he said.

Narendran added, “the emotional connect between our employees and the company is one of our greatest strengths and this coupled with the relationships that we have with our customers, distributors and other partners and service providers is one of the reasons why we feel confident that we can deal with all challenges that come our way.”

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