Mittal to visit Orissa

LN Mittal, chairman of Mittal Steel, the largest producer of steel in the world, will visit Orissa on Friday. Mittal will meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss investment possibilities in the state.

The NRI steel tycoon's forthcoming visit assumes significance in the context of Orissa's emergence as the country's steel hub. The visit has raised a lot of excitement among official circles here.

The state has signed 43 MoUs for setting up steel projects in the last two years, envisaging a capacity addition of 54 million tonnes at a cost of nearly Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

Upcoming projects include South Korean firm Posco's $12-billion steel plant at Paradip "" the largest ever FDI project in the country and Tatas' Rs 15,000-crore six - million tonne steel plant at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district.

Jindal Steel and Power, Bhusan Steel, Essar Steel and the Vedanta group have also inked MoUs with the Orissa government for mega projects.

Mittal Steel has proposed to set up a 12-million tonne steel plant in Jharkhand, another iron-ore rich state and entered into an MoU with the state government there.