Jai Balaji gets land for West Bengal steel project

Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 00:35 IST
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Kolkata: The West Bengal government Monday allotted 748.97 acres to Jai Balaji Industries for setting up a five-million-tonne integrated steel plant at Raghunathpur in Purulia district. "We will get another 250 acres over and above this within the next 10-15 days," company chairman and managing director Aditya Jajodia said after receiving the land allotment order from state industries minister Nirupam Sen. Altogether 3,700 acres are required for the project. The first phase of the 160-billion project comprises a two-million-tonne steel plant, a 400 MW power plant and a one-million-tonne cement plant, Jajodia said. The total investment for the first phase will be 40 billion, out of which 15 billion will go towards setting up the power plant, 2 billion for the cement facility, and the remaining 23 billion on the steel plant. "The total project cost has come down by 30 percent and that of the first phase by 25 percent because of developments in domestic and international markets," he said. The company expects additional turnover of 50-60 billion from the first phase, which will be completed within 36 months of the start of the project. "We will start working on the project within 15-20 days," Jajodia said. The total project will comprise a five-million tonne integrated steel plant, three-million tonne cement plant and a 1,215 MW captive power plant. Jajodia said the project involves a debt-equity ratio of 2:1, with a 7-billion loan having already been secured from a consortium of 20 banks. Non-coking coal, which will be supplied by the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corp, will constitute 60 percent of the total coal requirement.
Source: IANS