NMDC to start construction of railway line for its Rs 15,500 crore Nagarnar steel plant

State-run iron ore miner NMDC will soon start the construction of 52-km long railway siding project for its over Rs 15,500 crore steel plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh. The railway line project is expected to be completed by September 2017, NMDC said on Friday.

"Steel and Mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar today performed the Bhoomi Pooja for the Railway Siding Project at NMDC's upcoming Nagarnar steel plant," it added.

Tomar was at the steel plant to assess the progress of the upcoming three MTPA (million tonnes per annum) facility that is being built at a cost of Rs 15,525 crore, NMDC said. Last month, Tomar had told PTI: "We are trying to finish the setting up of NMDC's Nagarnar plant in 2016 or 2017." The railway siding project is a critical component of the steel plant to bring in critical raw materials such as iron ore, coking coal, limestone and dolomite, etc for production and for outward movement of finished steel and slag.

Phase I of the project envisages connecting the 6 km stretch from the KK Railway line with Nagarnar Steel Plant at Ambagaon and Ammmagauda by laying about 53 kms of railway line within the Steel Plant premises at a cost of Rs 283 crore.

The Project to be completed by IRCON is slated to be completed in the next 18 months to coincide with the plant's production schedule, NMDC said.

The minister inspected the construction work at the Blast Furnace, Thin Slab Caster, Sinter Plant, Coke Ovens, Raw Material Handling System, Power Blowing Station and the Steel melting Shop, it added.