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“ArcelorMittal has sought approval for its proposed steel plant in Karnataka from the single window clearance committee of the state government. Setting up an integrated plant in the state would depend finally on a host of techno-economic factors. “We would disclose more details on cost, capacity, timeline etc once the technical studies are completed in about three-four months,” a company spokesperson told PTI.
Sources, however, said that the NRI billionaire LN Mittal-led company is planning to set up six-million tonne per annum steel plant in Karnataka attracting an estimated investment of Rs 30,000 crore.
Regulatory hurdles
“The proposed plant in Karnataka would be in addition to the company’s planned Rs 1-lakh-crore steel projects in Jharkhand and Orissa,” the company sources added. Earlier this month, minister of state for steel A Sai Prathap had said that Karnataka would set up a steel corridor and ArcelorMittal could consider setting up a steel plant there.
Last month Mittal had said during a conference call when asked if the company’s was planning to go to Karnataka, “We are in India, so I am sure my people must be discussing and talking with various options and opportunities.”
The company had threatened to withdraw from Jharkhand and Orissa on account of inordinate delays in getting land and regulatory approvals for the proposed projects. However, steel minister Virbhadra Singh had last week said there was no communication from the company in this regard and the ministry was talking to the states concerned for expediting clearances for its projects. The steel major had proposed to set up a plant in Keonjhar, Orissa, and at the tribal-dominated area between Khunti and Gumla districts of Jharkhand. ArcelorMittal needs about 10,000 acre land in Jharkhand and about 8,000 acre in Orissa. It has been allocated the Karampada mines in Jharkhand with estimated reserves of 65 MT iron ore against its needs of 600 MT to feed its 12-MTPA plant. The company still awaits iron ore mining leases in Orissa.