Bhushan lines up Rs 26,000 cr for 12 mt capacity in east India

Bhushan Steel has lined up around Rs 26,000 crore to build 12-million tonne capacity in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The move will complete the company's footprint in the eastern region, with the 4-million tonne (mt) Orissa plant being the first to be commissioned.

DEMAND HEATS UP

The company has signed an MoU with the Jharkhand government to set up a Rs 67,000 cr, 3 mt plant

The first phase of the Orissa project will be completed by March 2009 and will produce flat products

The Rs 8,800 cr Bengal plant would produce flat and long products

Neeraj Singal, managing director, Bhushan Steel, said the company had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jharkhand government for setting up a 3 mt plant for an investment of Rs 6,000-7,000 crore.

Bhushan has applied for coal and iron ore mines in Jharkhand. The Jharkhand plant will produce long products, marking the group's foray into the segment. The extension of the Orissa project will also entail production of long products.

The first phase of the Orissa project will be completed by March 2009 and will produce flat products. The 4 mt plant in Orissa will be expanded to 7 mt.

The total investment for the Orissa project is around Rs 10,000 crore, with half of it to be made in the first phase.

The Orissa plant will be the first to get off the ground, followed by Bengal and Jharkhand.

The Bengal project would be commissioned in 48 months from the handover of land.

The Bengal plant will produce a combination of flat and long products. The investment in Bengal will be around Rs 8,800 crore.

The West Bengal government has committed coal blocks for the project but the company is yet to get allocation.

Bhushan is setting up a 2 mt integrated steel plant with a captive power plant in Burdwan district of West Bengal. A 5 lakh tonne cold rolled and galvanising plant for automobile grade steel is also part of the project and will come up in the district of North 24 Parganas.

Bhushan is still in talks with the villagers for the land in Bengal. "We will come out with a proper rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy for land-losers," Singal added.

Bhushan requires around 2,500 acres for the plants in Bengal.