Gerdau’s Tadipatri steel plant in Southern India’s state of Andhra Pradesh has suspended operations at the unit after a gas leak that killed six workers and will resume after an extensive safety inspection.
According to a preliminary investigation, the gas leak occurred in the furnace wing of the plant, which has an installed capacity of 300,000 mt of special steel annually.
Concerns are more pronounced following this incident given recent protests. Recently in May, Vedanta group was ordered to shut down its Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu after local protests over safety concerns at the site turned violent and resulted in the death of 13 from police response. In early July, the management of Sterlite Copper began reassessing opening procedures for the unit and has started discussions with the 900 employees.
The plant, the company's first in Asia, is the result of a 2007 joint venture with Kalyani Steels called Kalyani Gerdau, acquiring the plant from SJK Steel. While Gerdau and Kalyani held 45 percent each, the previous owner and financial institutions held the balance of 10 percent. In 2013, Gerdau bought out Kalyani from the joint venture. In July 2016, Gerdau included it in a list for potential divestments but opted to continue running it given the business potential in India.