BHUBANESWAR: Even as the state government has signed an MoU with ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) India Ltd for establishment of a 12 MTPA steel plant in Kendrapada, details of employment, land and water requirements for the plant will be known from the detailed project report, said industries minister Dibyashanker Mishra.
In a written reply to the assembly on Friday, Mishra said the DPR is being prepared by the project proponent. He was responding to a query from senior BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik.
AMNS India signed the MoU with the state government on March 4 for establishment of the steel mill in the presence of chief minister Naveen Patnaik and executive chairman of ArcelorMittal LN Mittal.
An official source said the company is looking for around 4,000 acres in Mahakalapada of the coastal district as the place is close to the proposed riverine port on Mahanadi and newly-built Haridaspur-Paradip railway line.
A state government delegation also visited the identified site a few months back. World’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, had earlier signed an MoU to set up a 12 mtpa steel plant in mineral-rich Keonjhar district in 2006 but backed out in 2013 citing delay in land acquisition and raw material linkage.
The state government has granted the mining lease for Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block in Sundargarh district to AMNS India Ltd. Though Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block was originally bagged by Essar Steel India Ltd through an auction process in 2016, AMNS took over from Essar Steel following a bankruptcy proceeding.
The iron ore reserve spreads over 139.165 hectares. It has total reserve of around 78.24 MT. State mines director Debidutta Biswal in a letter to Sundargarh collector Nikhil Pavan Kalyan had asked to ensure execution of mining lease deed of Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block with AMNS India Ltd by Saturday.
The lease deed was executed on Friday. Besides the Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block, the AMNS India has also bagged the Thakurani iron ore block.