Raipur: India's largest steel plant, Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), has reported 8.6 percent production growth in hot metal, 7.8 percent in crude steel and 6 percent in saleable steel in the first half of the current fiscal compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.

BSP is the flagship unit of state-owned steel major Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

A BSP statement Thursday said: "The hot metal, crude steel and saleable steel production in the first six months of 2008-09 has been 2,664,896 tonnes, 2,555,814 tonnes and 2,203,233 tonnes, respectively."

The statement said that BSP, located about 30 km west from here, has made record production of all its finished products - rails, plates, merchant products and wire rods.

"Bhilai, the sole supplier of world-class rails to the Indian Railways, has produced 457,330 tonnes of finished rails in April-Sep 2008 period, registering a growth of 3.4 percent over last year. Total dispatches of saleable steel from Bhilai plant during first half have been 2,175,023 tonnes - a growth of 6.8 percent over last year," the statement said.

The plant has registered high growth in production of value added steel grades in all its finishing mills.

"The plant has recorded 42 percent growth in production of HT (high tensile) plates, 26 percent growth in EQ (electrode quality) wire rods production, 82.6 percent growth in production of TMT (thermo mechanically treated) wire rods and 43.1 percent growth in production of TMT bars in the first half of this fiscal compared to the corresponding period last fiscal," the statement added.