Jindal Industrial Park located at Punjipathra, Raigarh in the Central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is facing disruptions in the power supply of the industrial park which is likely to affect the steelmaking facilities within its borders.
Jindal Steel & Power’s (JSPL) Raigarh plant has up to a 3 million mt annual steel production capacity and has the world’s largest coal-based sponge iron manufacturing facility according to its website. Other facilities at the industrial park, which is spread across 800 acres, include a coke oven plant and a sinter plant.
The company is planning to increase the production of steel from 3 million mt annually to 10 million mt annually in several phases. The expansion plans include a 7 million mt integrated steel plant, a 2 million mt cement plant and a 1600 MW CPP with a total investment of over US$7 billion. For now, the power supply disruptions may affect production. Some regions in India are also facing higher tariffs due to temporary supply side issues resulting from disruption in the North-West transmission line, coal shortage at several plants and rising costs due to expensive imported coal.
JSPL is part of the OP Jindal Group and provides infrastructural assistance at the park by providing land, roads and drains along with a promise of a consistent supply of power at a competitive rate to the 32 units within the park. Other units are also presently in the pipeline.