New Delhi: ArcelorMittal on Wednesday said it is in talks with the Orissa and Jharkhand governments for alternative sites for its Rs 1 lakh crore steel projects which have remained stuck, mainly due to problems in acquiring land.
Aditya Mittal, Chief Financial Officer of the world's
largest steel maker, said through a conference call that
ArcelorMittal is also exploring options to move out of the two
states where their projects are facing protests.
"We are in talks (with the state governments) for (new)
potential sites for our projects. We can shift the sites
within the two states. Theoretically, we are also looking at
other sites within the country," Mittal said.
The company is "disappointed" with the progress made so
far on its proposed 12-Million Tonnes Per Annum steel plant,
each in Orissa and Jharkhand. It has rued the regulatory
hurdles as well.
However, Jharkand Industry and Mines Secretary N N Sinha
said from Ranchi over phone that the state government has not
been formally intimated about the company's new plans.
"There have been many informal talks in this regard, but
we have not received any formal communication yet," he said.
The Orissa government could not be reached for comments.
Asked whether the NRI billionaire L N Mittal led firm
would drop the projects, Mittal said, "India continues to
be an important destination for ArcelorMittal."
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 17:13