Bangalore: The world's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal has short-listed some sites in northern Karnataka for its proposed steel plant involving nearly Rs 30,000 crore investment, ArcelorMittal India chief executive Vijay Bhatnagar said here on Friday.
"We have gone and done the survey. We have short-selected some sites. We have to get into much more details", Bhatnagar, who is the also CEO of ArcelorMittal China told reporters after a preliminary meeting with chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and senior state government officials here.
He said the incentives that Karnataka would offer for setting up the plant have not been worked out, but noted that the state's 2009-14 industrial policy offers some.
Yeddyurappa said ArcelorMittal has come forward to set up steel industry and trading activities in Karnataka, where it plans to invest nearly Rs 30,000 crore in the first phase to establish a six-million tonne per annum integrated steel plant.
"They (ArcelorMittal) have already been shown seven to eight sites in north Karnataka," he said, adding "they have shown keen interest in two sites out of which one will be finalised soon".
The company also plans to set up a power plant of 750 MW capacity. "Both the projects are expected to generate nearly 10,000 employment opportunities," he said.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the company's
chief L N Mittal said: "We look forward to working closely
with the state government as the project progresses. It will
be an honour for ArcelorMittal to be a part of Karnataka's
industrial development".
Yeddyurappa said while preliminary discussions have been
held with regard to setting up of both the steel plant and
power plant, "the final decision will be taken shortly".
The state government has assured full support to the
project, he said, adding, the details are being worked out.
Responding to questions, Bhatnagar said the proposed
plant in Karnataka is an "additional investment" for the
company, which would continue to pursue other projects in the
country. On funding of the Karnataka steel plant, he said,
"it's too early to say".
In a separate a statement, the company said the "positive
discussions in Karnataka have only strengthened our commitment
to building greenfield projects in India.
"We remain committed to our sites in Orissa and Jharkhand
where we are conducting a series of proactive CSR programmes.
We are keen to build our first steel plant as soon as possible
and will provide more details on all our projects in due
course of time."
The company is facing problems in acquiring land for its
proposed Rs 1 lakh-crore steel projects -- one each in Orissa
and Jharkhand -- having an annual production capacity of 12
million tonnes.
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 27, 2009, 23:41