Calcutta, Dec. 22: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will flag off the Rs 9,600-crore modernisation and expansion programme of IISCO at Burnpur on Sunday.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Union steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan and information & broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi will accompany the Prime Minister.

The investment will increase IISCO Steel Plant’s (ISP) capacity from 0.5 million tonnes to 2.5 million tonnes by 2010. ISP is now a part of the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

IISCO is the oldest integrated steel plant in the country, which started operations in 1874. It was nationalised in 1972 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIL in 1978-79.

Before its fortunes declined, IISCO was a blue-chip company and had its shares traded on the London Stock Exchange.

The company turned around in 2003-04 following implementation of a revival plan prepared by SAIL.

ISP started in February 2006, following the merger of IISCO with SAIL. Burnpur-based ISP has the capacity to produce 4.26 lakh tonnes of saleable steel, mainly structurals and bars and rods, and 2.54 lakh tonnes of pig iron annually.

The plant also produces a large number of special steel sections used for fabrication of rail wagons and for construction of barrages and bridges.