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Jindal to set up mega steel plant in West Bengal
Friday, 12 January 2007, 18:30 IST |
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Kolkata: Marking a new era in West Bengal's industrialization after days of clashes over land acquisition, the Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Steels Ltd Thursday signed an agreement with the state government to set up a 10-million-tonne steel plant with a cumulative investment of 
350 billion ($7.85 billion).
JSW Steel managing director Sajjan Jindal signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhdadeb Bhattacharaya for the plant to come up over 5,000 acres at Salboni in West Midnapore district.
Spread over 12 years, the investment will cover a steel plant, a dedicated port, a coalmine and a power project, taking West Bengal into the big league of steel producing states like neighboring Jharkhand and Orissa.
"We will start with a three-million-tonne capacity plant with 100 billion investment. This will also have a 600 MW captive power plant," Jindal said.
"It will take 48 months to commission this project," he added.
"West Bengal has the best manpower for steel industry since all steel plants have a large number of Bengali technicians. They have developed a culture for 100 years in the steel industry. They are steel men. Steel is in their blood," he said.
"West Bengal is one of the best sites for an integrated steel plant. We are close to the iron ore rich belt of Orissa and Jharkhand and also we are close to the ports. Nature has given West Bengal very high quality coal mine and we would revive some of the old coal mines which have been abandoned in Ranigunge area. We will also develop 600-metre deep underground mine, something not done in India before," Jindal said.
Lauding the assistance of Bhattacharya, he said: "I have not seen anywhere else in the country a government which is so proactive and supportive.
"The chief minister said he would provide all infrastructure and that it is his responsibility to see that a four-lane highway connects right up to the steel plant," Jindal said.
"Today we not only lay the foundation of the factory but the prosperity and development of the whole region. If you see what we have done in Vijaynagar in Karnataka you will understand the transformation," he said.
Jindal said he was also happy about the Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO) expansion project in the state. "I think it would have happened long back," he said.
"This is a memorable day for West Bengal," Bhattacharya said.
The state government has identified 5,000 acres for the steel plant at Salboni near Kharagpur. The plant is expected to create 10,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
The land earmarked by the government is fallow, non-agricultural land and is unlikely to face any protests from the local population as the land acquired for the Tata small car project at Singur or Salim projects in Nandigram did.
Terming the recent week's incidents in Singur and Nandigram as unfortunate, Jindal said his group is specially careful about farmers because his own father and former chairman of the group Om Prakash Jindal - who died in a copter crash in early 2005 - was also from a farming background.
Source: IANS
350 billion ($7.85 billion).
JSW Steel managing director Sajjan Jindal signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhdadeb Bhattacharaya for the plant to come up over 5,000 acres at Salboni in West Midnapore district.
Spread over 12 years, the investment will cover a steel plant, a dedicated port, a coalmine and a power project, taking West Bengal into the big league of steel producing states like neighboring Jharkhand and Orissa.
"We will start with a three-million-tonne capacity plant with 100 billion investment. This will also have a 600 MW captive power plant," Jindal said.
"It will take 48 months to commission this project," he added.
"West Bengal has the best manpower for steel industry since all steel plants have a large number of Bengali technicians. They have developed a culture for 100 years in the steel industry. They are steel men. Steel is in their blood," he said.
"West Bengal is one of the best sites for an integrated steel plant. We are close to the iron ore rich belt of Orissa and Jharkhand and also we are close to the ports. Nature has given West Bengal very high quality coal mine and we would revive some of the old coal mines which have been abandoned in Ranigunge area. We will also develop 600-metre deep underground mine, something not done in India before," Jindal said.
Lauding the assistance of Bhattacharya, he said: "I have not seen anywhere else in the country a government which is so proactive and supportive.
"The chief minister said he would provide all infrastructure and that it is his responsibility to see that a four-lane highway connects right up to the steel plant," Jindal said.
"Today we not only lay the foundation of the factory but the prosperity and development of the whole region. If you see what we have done in Vijaynagar in Karnataka you will understand the transformation," he said.
Jindal said he was also happy about the Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO) expansion project in the state. "I think it would have happened long back," he said.
"This is a memorable day for West Bengal," Bhattacharya said.
The state government has identified 5,000 acres for the steel plant at Salboni near Kharagpur. The plant is expected to create 10,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
The land earmarked by the government is fallow, non-agricultural land and is unlikely to face any protests from the local population as the land acquired for the Tata small car project at Singur or Salim projects in Nandigram did.
Terming the recent week's incidents in Singur and Nandigram as unfortunate, Jindal said his group is specially careful about farmers because his own father and former chairman of the group Om Prakash Jindal - who died in a copter crash in early 2005 - was also from a farming background.
Source: IANS