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State-run iron ore producer NMDC is in the process of acquiring 3,000 acres in Karnataka for setting up its second steel plant with an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes, at an investment of around Rs 18,000 crore.
“We are going ahead with the steel mill. The process of acquiring about 3,000 acres land for the proposed steel plant through Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) is also under progress,” a senior company official said.
The company has already deposited Rs 158.68 crore with KIADB as the tentative cost of the land plus service charges payable to the state agency. “We have engaged MECON as consultant for preparation of techno-economic feasibility report for the project,” he added. The company, he said, has also received approval from the state government for water and power required to the proposed steel plant.
NMDC is also setting up a 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa) steel plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh with Rs 15,525 crore investment. The proposed investment for the Bellary steel plant would be around Rs 18,000 crore, the official said, adding that NMDC might rope in a partner with expertise in steel-making for the project in future.
NMDC had formed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia’s Severstal to run the Karnataka steel mill in a joint venture in late 2010.
However, Severstal grew cold feet on the management control issue as NMDC was not willing to let it get a majority stake in the plant. As regards to the Nagarnar plant, he said the company has already invested a little over Rs 4,300 crore for the plant in which an estimated Rs 15,525 crore would be spent. “We are already in possession of about 2,120 acres of land for the steel plant,” he said, adding that necessary statutory clearances have been obtained.
