Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 20: Private sector steel and power firm, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) is going slow with its proposed Rs 8,000 crore investment in the state as it is waiting for raw material linkage before going ahead with its plan, Ravi Uppal, managing director and group chief executive officer (CEO) of JSPL has said.
Despite slump in commodity prices world over, Uppal was hopeful of an early recovery of the industry in the state.
“Steel industries in Orissa have invested Rs 1,10,000 crore. We have invested Rs 26,000 crore and another Rs 8,000 crore is in the pipeline. We have to do some ring fencing to ensure that the domestic steel industry is protected”, Uppal said at a seminar on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ here.
Terming the state as mineral basket of the country, he said that his company would participate in the upcoming auction of iron ore mines.
Orissa, which has seen huge interest from mineral-based firms in the last one decade or so, has received investments worth Rs 2.45 lakh crore, which have taken off in state.
The state government has signed agreements with 92 players across sectors like steel, power, aluminium, cement and auto components. Majority of the investments have flown from the steel sector as with 48 MoUs, steel sector leads the pack. As many as 33 steel units have already started partial or full scale production, investing around Rs 1.3 lakh crore with a total capacity of nearly 15 million tonne in the state. Companies like Tata Steel, Bhushan Steel and JSPL have been the major investors.
