The Hindu : Business : Tata Steel venture lights up coke oven at Haldia

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Friday, Sep 21, 2007
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Tata Steel venture lights up coke oven at Haldia

Special Correspondent

The plant will produce low ash, metallurgical coke

The output will be dedicated to Jamshedpur unit
Will generate 120 MW of power from waste heat

KOLKATA: Hooghly Met Coke & Power Co. Ltd. (HMC), a joint venture between Tata Steel and the State-owned West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, lit up its first module of coke ovens at its plant in Haldia in West Bengal.

The Rs. 1,800-crore project will be India’s largest standalone coke plant and among the largest in the world, once it commissions its full capacity of 1.6 million tonnes per annum by mid-2008. It will manufacture low ash, metallurgical coke along with 120 MW of power generated from the waste heat produced in the process. The power plant has been handed over to Tata Power Company on November 8, 2006, on grounds of its 100-year strong expertise in the area.

The ground-breaking for the fast-track project was done by West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, on February 18, 2006. The output will be totally dedicated to the Jamshedpur plant of Tata Steel which is expanding its capacity. The power will be exported to the State grid.

A company spokesman said besides generating additional revenue for the Haldia Dock Complex through the import of coal, HMC’s principal raw material, the new company would source most of its skilled and semi-skilled workforce locally. It was also mentioned that the technology being used by HMC was relatively new to the country and was designed to meet the stringent environmental norms.

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