A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Odisha and London-based Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel here on Thursday for setting up of a 12-MTPA integrated steel plant in Kendrapada district. Mittal plans to invest a whopping Rs 50, 000 crore in the project.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and ArcellorMittal Chairman LN Mittal. Mittal had met the CM at the Naveen Niwas earlier in the day to discuss details about the project.
However, Arcelor Mittal Chairman LN Mittal and CEO Aditya Mittal had met Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at his Delhi residence on March 2 and discussed about the capacity expansion of the company in the State and to develop Odisha as an international hub for the steel sector. The Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel, has acquired debt-laden Essar Steel in an insolvency resolution process overseen by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It was the Essar Steel that had bagged the first-ever iron ore mine auctioned in the country. The Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi mine has 99.59 million tonne deposits. The mine containing high grade iron ore reserves is meant to feed the integrated steel plant at Hazira.
The Odisha Government had issued the Letter of Intent (LoI) for developing the iron ore mine. As per an initial plan, 7.16 million tonne is to be extracted each year. The block is at G2 exploration stage and located in the Koira sector in Sundargarh district.
