Bhubaneswar: Odisha Government on Thursday signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS) for setting up of a 12 MTPA integrated steel plant in Kendrapada district.
A whopping Rs 50, 000 crore will be invested in the project, official sources said.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and ArcellorMittal Chairman LN Mittal at Lokaseva Bhavan here. Earlier in the day, Mittal met the CM at the latter’s residence (Naveen Niwas) and discussed about the project.
Commenting on the development, MSME Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra said, “The project will create job opportunities in the state on a large scale. Odisha shares 52 per cent of the total bauxite, 33 per cent of iron ore and 25 per cent of coal produced in the country. The agreement between the Odisha Government and Mittal is a major achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic and an attempt to boost the state’s economy. And it is a matter of proud that Odisha has left Maharashtra behind in terms of investment.”
On March 2, ArcelorMittal Chairman LN Mittal and CEO Aditya Mittal had met Union Steel and Mines Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at his Delhi residence and held discussions on ways to develop Odisha as an international hub for steel sector and capacity expansion of the company in the state.
In June last year, the company had announced an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Odisha.
AM/NS, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel, had acquired debt-laden Essar Steel in an insolvency resolution process overseen by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It was Essar Steel that bagged the first ever iron ore mine auctioned in the country in Odisha- Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi mine endowed with 99.59 million tonne deposits.
The mine containing high grade iron ore reserves is meant to feed the integrated steel plant at Hazira. Odisha Government had issued the Letter of Intent (LoI) for developing the iron ore mine. As per initial plan, 7.16 million tonne was to be extracted every year. The block is at G2 exploration stage and located in Koira of Sundargarh district.
Later, AM/NS India successfully bid for Thakurani iron mine at e-auctions of lapsing merchant mine blocks in Odisha, quoting a premium in upwards of 100 per cent. The Thakurani mine straddling a lease area of 228.04 ha, possesses 180 million tonne of iron ore. It has permits to mine 5.5 million tonne per annum.
With this acquisition by Essar Steel, AM/NS owns six million tonne pellet complex at Paradip backed by 12 million tonne beneficiation plant at Dabuna (Keonjhar), both facilities in Odisha connected by a slurry pipeline.
