India’s JSW Steel awarded a contract to Primetals Technologies, the UK-based engineering and plant construction company, for two iron ore pellet plants at an integrated steel plant under construction in Paradeep, Odisha, on Aug. 27, the company said in a statement the same day.

The plants have identical production capacities of 8 million metric tons/year, and will support the first stage of the JSW Utkal Steel plant, which began on May 27, 2026.

The two pellet plants are expected to be commissioned by fiscal year 2027-2028 (April-March), according to data from JSW Steel. Typically, a pellet plant converts fine iron ore powder into uniform spheres for use in blast furnaces or direct reduction plants.

The first stage of the JSW Utkal Steel comprises a 5 million mt/y blast furnace, a 6 million mt/year SMS (steelmaking shop) and a 6 million mt/y HSM (hot-strip mill). Stage 1 is

expected to be commissioned in FY2029-30, according to JSW Steel.

JSW Utkal Steel is part of JSW Steel’s goal to reach an annual global steel output of 54.9 million mt by FY2030-31, up nearly 44.9% from the current 37.9 million mt.

Its expansions include JSW Utkal Steel, which will eventually have an output of 13.2 million mt/y, and a joint venture 6 million mt/y plant in Dhenkanal, Odisha, with South Korean steelmaker POSCO.

JSW Steel also has another joint venture with Japan’s JFE Steel Corp., which operates an integrated steelworks at Sambalpur, Odisha, with a crude steel output of 4.5 million mt/y. The 50-50 JV plans to more than double the steelworks’ capacity to 10 million mt/y by 2030 and to 15 million mt/y thereafter.