The Odisha government today said it is inviting SAIL-ArcelorMittal JV to set up an automotive grade steel plant in the state as ample land was available there.
Steel Authority of India Limited ( SAIL) recently responding to the state's request wrote a letter to Odisha Principal Secretary, Sanjeev Chopra, saying they would keep the eastern state in mind while zeroing in on the location for the proposed steel plant.
"They ( SAIL-Mittal JV) are examining various locations. And the ball is in their court. Once they express interest, land is also available."
"Ample land is available in Rourkela. I am sure in case they are interested they can do it very fast here. There is no issues of land acquisition also," Chopra told PTI.
SAIL has a steel plant in Rourkela with 4.5 million tonnes of Hot Metal and 4.2 Million Tonnes of Crude Steel per annum capacity.
SAIL and ArcelorMittal had in May, 2015 entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the possibility of setting up an auto-grade steel manufacturing facility under a joint venture in India.
The proposed JV will construct a cold rolling mill and other downstream finishing facilities in India, touted as one of the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world with production expected to double between 2014 and 2020, from 3.6 million units to 7.3 million units.
In May last year, an inter ministerial group (IMG) had reviewed the progress of MoU that aims to set up an estimated Rs 5,000-crore joint venture (JV) plant to produce auto-grade steel in the country.
Replying to a query, the official said Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel has given a proposal for the land given up by Korean steel giant Posco, for setting up a steel plant and the Odisha government is clearing the file for allocation of the land.
"JSW has given a proposal. So land is going to be assessed. The recommendation has gone to IDCO (Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) which will be allotting the land."
"Some formalities need to be completed for getting forest clearances which was earlier in the name of Posco. They should be able to do the groundbreaking in this calendar year," Chopra said.
The official was in the city for a roadshow for the upcoming "Make in Odisha Conclave 2018."
Seeking investments into Odisha, Chopra said currently the state has about 1.21 lakh acres of land bank for industrial development.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
