Essar Steel commissioned its second Conarc Furnace at its Hazira, India, steel complex. The furnace has a capacity of 2.5 million metric tons per year, increasing the facility’s annual capacity to 5 million metric tons. The Conarc Furnace will be fed with inputs from the plant’s blast furnace, which has an annual capacity of 1.73 million metric tons, DRI and two Corex units. The total investment in Essar’s Hazira steel complex is approximately $6 billion.           

With the commissioning of this furnace, Essar Steel has commissioned all the steelmaking, iron-making and rolling units that are part of a 10-million-metric-ton expansion project. According to Essar, this will be India’s largest flat steel facility at any single location and amongst the 10 largest facilities in the world. It will also be fully integrated and will produce the entire range of flat products. The facility is also capable of producing high-strength steels.