Tata Steel is going to give India its first-ever steel scrap recycling plant

The plant will be set up on BOO (built, own and operate) model and will have a capacity of five lakh tonne a year

New Delhi: In order to make itself future-ready, Tata Steel is taking the plunge and planning to set up India's first steel recycling plant in Rohtak, Haryana. TV Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, "In preparing for the future, Tata Steel has set up a steel recycling business to meet the growing demand for steel in a sustainable manner in the long run."

The move will give the company a headstart among peers in scrap generation as the business picks up pace in the Indian economy, which is also the fastest growing steel market in the world.

The unit will have capacity of 5 lakh tonne a year

The plant will be set up on BOO (built, own and operate) model and will have a capacity of five lakh tonne a year. To implement the plan, Tata Steel has entered a long-term BOO agreement with Aarti Green Tech, a unit of the Ludiana-based Aarti Steels.

Tata Steel is investing a total of Rs 150 crores into the venture and expects to start commercial operation in the second half of the current financial year.

'Plant will help formalise the scrap market'

"The steel recycling business will help formalise the scrap market in India and help the country transition to a scrap-based steel making route in the long-term," Narendran added.

"Steel is 100 percent recyclable material and can be used repeatedly to create new steel products, without losing the inherent properties of steel. This helps reduce the use of natural resources as well as leads to low CO2 emissions," he added.

The company has plans to set up similar units across the country.

A beginning

Even though India is one of the fastest growing steel markets in the world, it still lags behind in the generation of steel scrap and its usage. As of today, the annual demand for steel scrap in India is 30 million tonnes, and the country imports five million tonne every year.

Automobile, construction and ship-breaking industries generate the largest amount of steel scrap.

Globally, the world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal alone recycles 30 million tonnes of steel a year. If ArcelorMittal manages to clinch Essar Steel, which is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings, it could bring the same capability to India.