ArcelorMittal remains committed to Orissa project: Orissa government
08 Jun 2010
The Orissa government has reiterated that ArcelorMittal would go ahead with its Rs40,000 crores steel plant project and has ruled out the possibility of the 12 million tonne per annum (mtpa) Orissa being scrapped by the steel behemoth.
According to state steel and mines minister Raghunath Mohanty, Arcelor Mittal had sent a written document to the state steel and mines department two - three months back stating that it was fully committed to its Orissa project.
He added that he had had a personal meeting with Sanak Mishra, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal India, last month and he had at the time stated with conviction that the company was not pulling out of its mega steel project in Orissa.
ArcelorMittal's mega steel project has been on hold due to land acquisition problems ever since the signing of the MoU (memorandum of understanding) in December 2006.
The company has not yet submitted its detailed project report (DPR) and has been able to make little progress on the ground after it signed the MoU.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal's expressed discontent over the sluggish pace of the Orissa project and the company's priority apparently shifting to its Karnataka steel project, have triggered speculations over the company's Orissa plan.