ArcelorMittal acquires land for steel plant in Karnataka
07 Nov 2012
ArcelorMittal's first steel plant in the country is likely to come up in Karnataka, the last state with which it signed a memorandum of understanding.
According to Vijay Bhatnagar, head of the world's largest steel maker, the company had got legal possession of around 2,600 acres in Karnataka for its steel plant. Bhatnagar was speaking to NDTV.
ArcelorMittal chairman L N Mittal had also signed MOUs with Jharkhand and Odisha, before the one he signed with Karnataka, for setting up steel mills, but these had to be downsized due to various problems.
As far as Karnataka was concerned, Bhatnagar told NDTV that the land acquisition was only the first step and a lot of work had yet to be done. In response to a question as to when the construction of the plant would get underway Bhatnagar said, the company did not know and it would start applying for statutory approvals, such as environment clearances, from the local government.
Regarding the supply of iron ore (the main raw material in steel-making), Bhatnagar told NDTV that the issue would be discussed with the Karnataka government.
The development comes following concerns over ArcelorMittal's ability to finance new projects especially after Moody's cut its debt rating for ArcelorMittal to 'junk' with a negative outlook. The company posted a Q3 net loss at $709 million.
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