Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tisco) today signed an agreement with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to set up a merchant coke oven plant at Haldia in East Midnapore.An agreement was signed by Tisco managing director B Muthuraman and managing director of WBIDC Gopal Krishna in the presence of ChiefMinister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee and chairman of Tata Sons Ratan Tata.Speaking to reporters after signing the agreement, Muthuraman said the JV company will be called Hooghy Met Coke and Power Company, and the envisaged cost of phase one of the project is around Rs 700 crore. An estimated 0.8 million tonne of coke and 60 megawatt of power would be produced, he added.He said the company, to be formed and registered shortly, proposes to set up a merchant coke oven plant by adapting the heat recovery route.The company will also generate 60 MW of electricity by utilising sensible heat of the hot flue gas from the coke oven and the power generated by the company will be sold to the West Bengal State Electricity Board.
