RINL shuts down two blast furnaces at Visakhapatnam plant

State-run steel maker RINL has shut down two blast furnaces at its Visakhapatnam plant, as a result of which the daily production level has come down to 6,000 tonnes, a source said. After shutting down the first blast furnace last month, the company has shut down the second blast furnaces also last week reducing its production further to 6,000 tonnes, a source said.

There is a lack of demand in the market and given the scenario its is imperative to scale down the production, the source said. RINL, which has an installed capacity of over 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), produced about 18,000 tonnes of hot metal on a daily basis.

There are three blast furnaces of 2.5 MTPA each at the plant. Keeping vital equipment like coke oven batteries, blast furnaces, among others, in running condition is very essential for steel plants.