Bokaro: In fiscal 2020-21, SAIL’s Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) has exceeded its targets and recorded a massive jump by posting a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs 2251 Crore as compared to a PBT of Rs 48 Crore during the Corresponding Period Last Year (CPLY). Overcoming challenges posed by Covid-19, BSL also recorded a turnover of Rs 16020 Crore in 2020-21 as against a turnover of Rs 13170 Crore during CPLY through sale of around 3.45 million tonnes of Saleable Steel.
The remarkable improvement in BSL’s bottom-line was backed by matching achievements on the production and dispatch fronts. In 2020-21, BSL registered a growth of 2.7% in the production of HR Plate and HR Sheet compared to 2019-20 and a growth of 1.5% in the production of CR Saleable from CRM-3 as compared to the previous year. Last year, BSL made new annual records in Hot Metal production from Blast Furnace#1, CR Coil for Sale (CRM-3) and Granulated Slag Production.
Apart from these, new monthly records were made in production of Hot Metal from 3 furnace operations, HR Coil production post modernization, Granulated Slag production, Gross Sinter production, production from PLTCM, BAF & SPM, CR Saleable production etc. Last year, many new quarterly and half yearly production records were also made in BSL. Moreover, 2020-21 also witnessed the best ever Quartely production of CR Saleable from CRM-1, 2 and 3 and CR Coil for Sale from CRM-3 in Q4. New annual records were made in some key Techno-Economic Parameters such as Productivity of BF-1 and 4 furnace operations, Coke Rate & CDI rate of BF-1 and BF-3, Water Consumption and dispatch of Granulated Slag.
On the dispatch front, a growth of 2.4% was registered in dispatch of HR plates and HR Sheets as compared to 2019-20, while dispatch of CR Saleable from CRM-3 jumped by around 16.3% compared to the previous year.
Securing the Environment Clearance for the modernization and expansion of the plant in the month of March was another shot in the arm for BSL. Notably, the new LF and Caster in the New SMS # 1 started regular operation with the production of first heat on 27th January. The unit has since achieved commissioning at 66% capacity and being ramped up. With this, the ingot route will be completely stopped and BSL will produce steel only through the modern Continuous Casting route which is more energy efficient.
In 2020-21, BSL also developed several new steel grades including SAILCOR grade for Solar Industry, ASTMA A516 GR70 grade for Boilers/Pressure Vessels, EN-10025-2 S235JR grade etc. Last year, BSL added another feather in its cap by winning the prestigious Greentech Environment Excellence Award-2020 in the ‘Recycling and Waste Management’ category for excellence in the area of environment conservation.
In fiscal 2020-21, BSL also registered a massive increase of around 68% in exports by exporting 332818 Tonnes of steel to several countries including China. This also includes export of 12436 tonnes of steel in the European market with CE mark certification, a first for BSL. Buoyed by these achievements, Bokaro Steel Plant is committed to continually improve its performance and scale greater heights in the current fiscal.
