Global steel baron Laksmi Mittal has said the steel manufacturing facility in Karnataka may become a reality much ahead of the proposed projects in Jharkhand and Orissa.
?Since we met the Karnataka chief minister in January, we have been pleased with the progress and today we have signed a MoU with the state government. The Karnataka project is working on a faster mode compared to proposed projects in other states,? the chairman of ArcelorMittal said while addressing a press conference at the Global Investor?s Meet (GIM) hosted by the Karnataka government in Bangalore on Thursday.
ArcelorMittal has committed to invest Rs 30,000 crore to set up of a six-million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity steel mill and a 750-mw power generation unit in Karnataka. The state government has already allotted land for the project. He said the company has faced a lot of hurdles in connection the land and forest approvals, enviornment clearances and protests by civic bodies in other states. In Jharkhand, he said, the company is working on different land sites for its proposed steel plant. ArcelorMittal had proposed to set up a 12 mtpa-steel plant?one each in Jharkhand and Orissa. Karnataka, he said, has assured him that all the other requirements will be processed speedily now that the land has been allotted. ?This makes us believe that progress in Karnataka will be better.?
Once the foundation work begins, the Karnataka project is expected to start functioning within 36 months, he said.
However, he did not reveal when the company will start foundation work which will come up in 4,000 acres of land in iron-rich Bellary district. ?The government has allotted water for the steel and power plants,? he added. The company is now working with the government to get a mining licence. ?We do not have any license yet, but the process has begun.?
Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of the GIM, he said that the country is poised to be a unique development story of its own. ?I see signs of improvement everywhere. However, it is clear that the economic recovery is not happening at a universal pace.? he said.
?There are two distinct paces emerging?the developed countries which are travelling in the slow lane of the motorway; the other is developing countries which are accelerating in the fast lane. This is one of the most interesting trends to be reinforced by the crisis,? he added.