Kolkata: Jai Balaji Industries, the largest steel group in West Bengal, Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement with West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to set up a five million tonnes capacity steel plant and 1,215 MW power plant at Raghunathpur in Purulia district.

The company will invest Rs.160 billion to set up the integrated steel plant, along with a captive power plant and a cement plant in the same complex.

"The project will be implemented in phases. The first phase, which would have a capacity of two million tonne steel production, is likely to be completed by 2010. The unit will come up with the financing of 3:1 debt-equity ratio," Jai Balaji Industries Ltd chairman and managing director Aditya Jajodia told reporters on the sidelines of the signing ceremony.

He said about 4,000 acres of land have been identified and the process of acquiring has been started in Raghunathpur. About 10,000 people will be directly employed in the project and 40,000 indirect job opportunities will be generated.

"The company will construct a township over 500 acres of land and the remaining 3,500 acres would be used for the steel, power and cement factory," he said, adding that about Rs.15 billion of the total amount would be chipped in for the cement plant.

"A survey will be done in the area by the state government to find out the socio-economic status of the local people who will lose their land for the project. The company, with the help of the state government, will facilitate those people to join training programmes and get a job in the factory," said West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen.

Jai Balaji Industries Ltd is an Rs.20 billion conglomerate with nine units across India.