H S Puri, Dharmendra Pradhan encourage enhanced steel usage in construction, aviation

Urban development minister H S Puri on Tuesday said that there will be a requirement of around 158 lakh tonnes of steel and 692 lakh tonnes of cement to construct 1.12 crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). Of this, around 84 lakh tonne of steel and 370 lakh tonne of cement has already been consumed.

“Enhanced use of steel in terminal buildings, pre-engineered structures leads to ease in work and speedy construction. The value of steel used in construction of airport terminal buildings in past 3 years is around Rs 570 crore. The value of steel expected to be used for construction of such buildings in next 5 years is close to Rs 1,905 crore”, Puri said.

Addressing a webinar on Atmanirbhar Bharat and enhancing steel usage in construction and aviation sectors, Puri noted that so far 1.07 crore houses (against a demand of 1.12 crore units) have been sanctioned across 4,550 cities. Of this, around 67 lakh houses have been grounded and 35 lakh have been delivered.

The minister added that an estimated 3.65 crore jobs would be generated in construction of all sanctioned houses of which about 1.65 crore jobs would have already been generated so far.

Emphasising increased use of steel in urban transport, Puri said that presently about 700 km of metro length is operational in 18 cities and about 900 km network is under construction in 27 cities. The average per kilometre requirement of steel in metro projects is about 13,000 tonne.

In the case of aviation, the minister pointed out that steel is being used extensively in airport terminal buildings for roof structure and as support to glass façade.

In the next five years, 15 new terminal buildings are planned at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore, requiring large quantity of steel, he said, adding that on an average 12-15% of cost component is steel work for airports.

Speaking on the occasion, petroleum and steel minister, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan appealed to steel industry leaders to partner with the Government in providing low-cost housing for migrant labourers.

He called for setting up a working group, comprising officers from various departments, industry associations and academician, which can make suggestions for further improving the policy framework for enhancing the steel consumption.

During the Covid crisis, Indian industry rose to the occasion and manufactured PPE kits, masks and ventilators and pharma industry supplied medicines to 150 countries. On similar lines, India, which is world’s second largest producer, should emerge as a preferred source for steel requirements. Giving priority to indigenously produced steel will help the industry become a preferred destination, Pradhan noted.