Tata Steel is looking out for a strategic partner for developing the proposed special economic zone (SEZ) project at Gopalpur in Orissa.
B Muthuraman, managing director of Tata Steel, said: "The feasibility study conducted by Tata Consultancy Services is complete and the company would now look out for a partner with expertise and interest in developing a SEZ."
Tata Steel plans to develop the SEZ with all infrastructure facilities and then lease it out to potential investors. The SEZ will be built on a 3,800-acre land that it had purchased to set up a steel plant.
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The Tatas had spent over Rs 150 crore for buying the land (for the steel project) and to rehabilitate the displaced owners. However, slow progress on the port, linkage of iron ore, and inadequate water supply have prevented from going ahead.
Industry sources said the investment in developing the SEZ could go up to Rs 600 crore to Rs 1,000 crore, depending on the infrastructure that the company chooses to provide. This would also include cost of land and related civil works.
The SEZ would complement the new port planned in the area. Adani Exports, part of the Rs 3,500-crore Adani Group, has already signed an agreement with the state government for developing an all-weather port on a built-operate-transfer basis for a concession period of 30 years. The port would be capable of handling big-cape vessels with capacity of over 1,20,000 tonne. It would help any industry that wants to focus on volumes as they would need such vessels to enjoy freight advantage.
Muthuraman said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state government and Adani Exports entailed development of the port only and not SEZ.
As on December 2001, the government has approved eight SEZs with 665 units operational and employing a total number of 91,532 workers, while investment by industrial units in these zones was Rs 1,978 crore, of which Rs 416.36 crore was from foreign investors / non-residential Indians.
The Tata Steel scrip today rose by 2.14 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) before ending at Rs 105.25.