Odisha on radar for Arcelor-SAIL JV

Odisha, home to mega steel manufacturing units owned by Tatas, Jindals and others, is being considered as one of the potential locations for an automotive grade steel plant proposed jointly by ArcelorMittal and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). SAIL has written to Odisha industries secretary Sanjeev Chopra, evincing interest in setting up the auto grade steel unit in the state.

“A decision on the site selection for the proposed unit would be taken based on the advice of experts after the due diligence is over. This will be done by taking into account the location, availability of manufacturing inputs, infrastructure and facilities as well as incentives and benefits made available by the respective state government. We appreciate your proposition and would keep Odisha as a prospective site for the proposed unit,” said a letter to Chopra, quoting G Vishwakarma, director (projects & business planning) SAIL.

Chopra was not immediately available for comment. Both the joint venture (JV) partners have been scouting for a suitable location for the project. ArcelorMittal and SAIL entered into memorandum of understanding (MoU) in May 2015 to explore the possibility of setting up an auto grade steel manufacturing facility. The size of the deal is estimated to be ~150 billion. Initial capacity of this plant is envisaged at 1.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) but it can be expanded to 2.5 mtpa.

Currently, a joint feasibility study is under way. Based on the outcome of this study, both the project proponents will proceed on other steps such as formation of JV company and site selection.