Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy inaugurated an 84,000 cubic metre Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) Water Reservoir at the IISCO Steel Plant (ISP) in Burnpur, West Bengal, during his three-day visit to the state. The reservoir is designed to serve the operational needs of the plant’s Coke Oven Battery-10 (COB-10) and to secure water supply for the proposed 4.08 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) capacity expansion project at ISP. The inauguration marks a critical infrastructure milestone in the modernisation of one of India’s oldest integrated steel plants, which is undergoing a multi-phase expansion under the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
IISCO Steel Plant: A Century of Steel Making
The IISCO Steel Plant, located in Burnpur in the Paschim Bardhaman district of West Bengal, traces its origins to 1918, when the Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) was incorporated by Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee, a pioneering industrialist of colonial India. Originally established as an iron-making unit, the plant added steel-making facilities in 1939 through the Steel Corporation of Bengal (SCOB), which was later amalgamated with IISCO in 1953.
For decades, IISCO was one of only two integrated steel companies in India, alongside Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel). Its shares were traded on the London Stock Exchange, and the plant supplied steel for nation-building projects. However, by the early 1970s, the plant faced severe decline due to aging technology, lack of modernisation, and financial distress. The Government of India took over its management in 1972, and in 1978-79, IISCO became a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIL. The company was formally amalgamated with SAIL in 2006 and renamed the IISCO Steel Plant.
A major modernisation and expansion programme, completed at a cost of over ₹16,000 crore, transformed ISP into a modern integrated steel plant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the modernised 2.5 MTPA plant to the nation in May 2015. The plant now features a 4,161 cubic metre blast furnace (named Kalyani), two coke oven batteries, sinter plants, three 150-tonne Basic Oxygen Furnaces, and rolling mills producing TMT bars, wire rods, and structural sections. In FY 2025-26, ISP achieved 108 percent of its rated hot metal capacity, 108 percent of crude steel capacity, and 109 percent of saleable steel capacity, reflecting strong operational performance.
The Water Reservoir and Its Role in Steel Production
The newly inaugurated RCC Water Reservoir has a storage capacity of 84,000 cubic metres. It is part of an integrated water management system that includes a booster pump house, a dedicated pump house for COB-10, and a process water pump house currently under construction. When completed, the system will enable a closed-loop water circulation mechanism, maximising water conservation and minimising operational losses.
The reservoir serves two immediate purposes: meeting the water requirements of the Coke Oven Battery-10 (COB-10) and supporting the proposed 4.08 MTPA expansion project at the plant. Union Minister Kumaraswamy described the facility as an important step towards sustainable industrial infrastructure.
What Is a Coke Oven Battery?
A Coke Oven Battery (COB) is a critical upstream facility in an integrated steel plant. It consists of a series of narrow, refractory-lined ovens where metallurgical coal is heated to temperatures around 1,000 to 1,100 degrees Celsius in the absence of oxygen. This process, called carbonisation, drives off volatile compounds and produces coke, a porous, carbon-rich material.
Coke serves two essential functions in the Blast Furnace: it acts as a fuel to generate the high temperatures needed for smelting, and it acts as a reducing agent that chemically removes oxygen from iron ore to produce molten iron. Over 90 percent of the world’s metallurgical coke is used in blast furnace operations. The IISCO plant currently operates COB-10 (with 78 ovens, 4.5 metres tall) and COB-11 (with 74 ovens, 7 metres tall), while a new COB-12 Stamp Charge Coke Oven Battery is under construction as part of the expansion plan. Water is essential for quenching hot coke and for cooling various parts of the battery, making a reliable water supply critical to the plant’s operations.
The 4.08 MTPA Expansion Project
SAIL has embarked on a major capacity expansion at the IISCO Steel Plant to increase crude steel production from the current 2.5 MTPA to 7.1 MTPA in phases. SAIL, a Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking headquartered in New Delhi, was incorporated on 24 January 1973 and operates under the Ministry of Steel. It is India’s largest government-owned steel producer, with five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur, Bokaro, and Burnpur. The first phase involves adding 4.08 MTPA of new crude steel capacity through a modernisation and expansion programme with an estimated investment of ₹45,810 crore.
The expansion project includes several major components. A new 5,557 cubic metre blast furnace is being constructed, which will be one of the largest in the country. This is being supplied by Danieli Corus of the Netherlands, with a target completion of 41 months. The project also includes three continuous casting slab casters capable of producing slabs up to 250 mm thick and 2,100 mm wide, a state-of-the-art hot strip mill focused on coil production for the automotive and durable goods sectors, and the COB-12 Stamp Charge Coke Oven Battery with a Coke Dry Cooling Plant (CDQ) and by-product recovery facilities.
In June 2026, SAIL awarded a ₹673.32 crore contract to SEPC Limited for the Coke Oven and Sinter Plant packages under this expansion. The project is expected to generate 500 direct and 6,500 indirect jobs during the construction phase and around 3,092 direct and 2,408 indirect jobs during operations.
The expansion is part of SAIL’s broader plan to increase its total crude steel capacity to 35 million tonnes per annum from its current level of around 20 million tonnes. This aligns with the central government’s National Steel Policy 2017, which targets India’s steel production capacity to reach 300 million tonnes by 2030.
Significance for India’s Steel Sector
The inauguration of the water reservoir and the broader expansion at ISP carry significant implications for India’s steel industry and the economy of eastern India.
Strengthening domestic steel capacity: India became the world’s second-largest crude steel producer in 2018, behind only China, and has sustained that position since. However, per capita steel consumption in India, at around 75 kg, remains well below the global average of about 220 kg, indicating substantial room for growth. The expansion at IISCO directly contributes to closing this gap by increasing domestic production capacity.
Reviving the Durgapur-Asansol industrial belt: The Burnpur plant is located in the Durgapur-Asansol industrial belt, often called the Ruhr of India for its concentration of heavy industries including steel, coal, and railways. This region, once the pride of Bengal’s industrial economy, suffered decades of decline. The multi-crore investment by SAIL represents the largest single central government investment in West Bengal and signals a revival of the region’s industrial fortunes.
Employment and downstream industries: The expansion is expected to produce hot-rolled coils, sheets, and plates, creating opportunities for downstream industries such as automobile manufacturing, machine building, and steel fabrication. With India’s electric vehicle market projected to grow significantly, the availability of high-quality automotive-grade steel from Burnpur could attract manufacturing investments to the region. The plant already produced 2.9 million tonnes of hot metal in FY 2025-26 and recorded capital expenditure of ₹1,860 crore, up from ₹689 crore in the previous year.
Sustainable steel production: The closed-loop water circulation system, coke dry cooling technology, and advanced environmental protection systems being installed at ISP reflect a shift towards more sustainable and efficient steel manufacturing. These upgrades align with India’s commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions intensity.
Key Takeaways
- HD Kumaraswamy, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, inaugurated an 84,000 cubic metre RCC Water Reservoir at the IISCO Steel Plant in Burnpur on 12 July 2026.
- The IISCO Steel Plant was originally established in 1918 by Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee as the Indian Iron and Steel Company and was amalgamated with SAIL in 2006.
- The reservoir supports the Coke Oven Battery-10 (COB-10) and the proposed 4.08 MTPA capacity expansion that will raise the plant’s crude steel capacity from 2.5 MTPA to 7.1 MTPA.
- SAIL, a Maharatna PSU headquartered in New Delhi, was incorporated on 24 January 1973 and operates five integrated steel plants including the IISCO Steel Plant.
- The expansion project at IISCO is estimated to cost ₹45,810 crore and includes a new 5,557 cubic metre blast furnace supplied by Danieli Corus of the Netherlands.
- India is the world’s second-largest crude steel producer and aims to achieve 300 million tonnes of steel production capacity by 2030 under the National Steel Policy 2017.
