OREANDA-NEWS. Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. (JSPL) has successfully commissioned its 2 MTPA Integrated Steel Plant (ISP) in Sohar, Oman. The facility, using state-of-art technology from M/s Danielli Italy, is Oman's first & largest Steel Melting Shop (SMS), and also the third largest unit of Middle East & Gulf Region. Jindal Shadeed has invested over USD 800 million in this integrated facility.

The Steel Melting Shop was commissioned in record 23 months from the date of commencement of the site work. Earlier, Jindal Shadeed had set up a 1.8 MTPA DRI plant, which has been operating to its full capacity for the last two years.

Speaking at the occasion Mr. Naveen Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., said, "The commissioning of Jindal Shadeed's - Steel Melting Shop represents one more step of our commitment to build a comprehensive steel manufacturing facility in The Sultanate of Oman. The plant will not only meet the growing steel demand of Oman but would also cater to the needs of entire Gulf region & Middle East."

The new plant, inter alia, comprises of the following features:

■ Electric Arc Furnace (EAF): With nominal capacity of 200 Tonnes, this is the largest in Middle East. It has unique feature to directly charge Hot DRI at 6500C into EAF by gravity and thereby facilitates substantial energy saving. This is the Worlds' first Gravity Hot DRI Feeding System. The furnace is modern and technically superior.

■ Ladle Furnace: Capacity of the furnace is 200 Tonnes. This is one of its kind in Middle East. Liquid steel is treated in the furnace to get desired chemistry and temperature.

■ Continuous Casting Machine: This is a combination of high speed caster to produce Billets and Blooms in Square & Round sections. It has 8 strands and is the largest and first of its kind in the world. The nominal capacity of the machine is 2 Million Tonnes per Year. The machine is capable of casting the following range of sections

i. Sq. Billets ranging from 100 mm to 220 mm

ii. Square Blooms up to 350 mm x 350 mm and Rectangular Blooms up to 350 mm x 380 mm.

iii. Round Sections from 180 mm to 406 mm.

iv. Vacuum Degassing Furnace: Special steels are processed through the furnace to cater to specific customer needs.