JSW-JFE Steel Sign ₹32,000 Crore JV to Expand Odisha Plant Capacity to 10 MTPA

24 Apr 2026, 07:13 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

JSW Steel and Japan’s JFE Steel Corporation announced their 50:50 joint venture at a major event called “Forging Ahead” in Thelkoloi, Sambalpur. This partnership is set to drive a massive ₹30,000–32,000 crore expansion of the Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) facility. JSW bought the debt-heavy BPSL for ₹19,700 crore back in 2019 after getting the green light from the National Company Law Tribunal. They didn’t waste time—after the takeover, JSW bumped the plant’s production from 2.9 million tonnes a year to almost 4.5 million.

The ceremony will be marked by the presence of several key dignitaries: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi came, along with JFE Steel President and CEO Masayuki Hirose, and JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal. The Japanese Ambassador to India, Keiichi Ono, was there too, plus top officials from the Odisha Industries Department.

JFE Steel laid the groundwork for this partnership on March 30, 2026, by investing ₹7,875 crore. That first payment gave JFE a 25% stake in JSW Kalinga Steel—the company running BPSL—and joint control right from the start. Under the agreement, JFE is grabbing a full 50% share in BPSL’s operations for about ₹15,750 crore, with more capital being added gradually to reach the equal split.

The main goal is to more than double Sambalpur’s current steel output—up from 4.5 million tonnes a year to over 10 million. That’s an extra 6 million tonnes. This expansion is meant to turn the site into a top spot for high-grade, specialized steel. JFE’s advanced Japanese technology will mix with JSW’s local operational strength, aiming for premium products like automotive steel, precision engineering materials, and electrical steel sheets.

For Odisha, this project is a cornerstone for the “Vision 2030” plan to hit 130 million tonnes of steel statewide. State officials say this joint venture is helping Odisha shift from just supplying raw materials to becoming a high-end manufacturing hub. Besides bringing in big foreign investment, the expansion is expected to spark job growth and boost the Sambalpur region’s industrial ecosystem, improving supply chains for infrastructure and the automotive industry.