Steel czar L N Mittal today expressed concern over slow progress in proposed Rs 1 lakh crore steel project in Jharkhand and Orissa, but ruled out exiting at this stage from the states.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has approved Mittal's Rs 30,000-crore proposed six million tonnes steel project in the state and the pact will be signed in June this year.
"We are not satisfied with the progress made in Jharkhand and Orissa. We hope that we can make more progress than what we have achieved so far... But our endeavour will continue. We don't plan to exit from any of our projects," he told reporters here.
"The plan remains the same but the project can come in phases," he said in reply to a query whether the global steel maker may scale down capacity of its 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) plants, one each in Jharkhand and Orissa.
ArcelorMittal has been facing problems in acquiring land and delays in securing regulatory approvals for its proposed Rs one-lakh-crore steel projects in Jharkhand and Orissa.
The NRI billionaire is likely to raise these issues in a meeting with Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh this afternoon.
About Karnataka project, he said, "Karnataka government has given preliminary approval for the proposed plant in Karantaka. The Karnataka plant will be the company's third plant."
