Rourkela: The union steel minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, Sunday said that the Rourkela would be made a mega manufacturing hub with the expansion of the Rourkela Steel Plant(RSP).

Pradhan at presser said, “The capacity of 4.5 million tonne RSP in Odisha’s Sundergarh district needs to be expanded to 10 million tonnes in view of the government of India’s Steel Policy to produce 300 million tonnes of steel in the country by 2030 from the present 140 million tonnes.”

Pradhan, who visited the plant reviewed the working of various units, said that the modernisation works need to be completed and the units must be stabilised soon.

The steel minister said that the Indian steel industry is facing the worst challenges at present time. So, to bail out the steel units, the government of India has been taking measures in recent times. He said that the decision to allow SAIL to sell 25% of its iron ore in the domestic market will have positive impact on the small steel producers.

Stating that the RSP has 32,000 acres of land, he said that more land may be required for the expansion of the plant.