JSW Steel will have to wait till the end of this year for a final decision on additional land requirement for its proposed Rs 20,000-crore expansion project in Karanataka, as the state government today said it has commissioned a study to assess the actual need.
"JSW Steel has sought 900 acres of land for expanding the capacity of its plant in the state. We have commissioned a study to assess the actual requirement asking the company to engage our consultancy firm TECSOK," Karnataka Principal Secretary Industries VP Baligar told PTI.
In its request to the state government, JSW has said that it requires the land for water storage to expand capacity of its plant to 15 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from already approved 11 MTPA, Baligar said.
He added that any decision on allotment would be taken after the TECSOK report expected by December.
The company has sought land adjacent to its existing steel plant in Toranagallu in Bellary district to store water for its steel plant.
While the company has already undertaken the expansion project to take the existing capacity to 11 MTPA by 2011, it would cost it about Rs 20,000 crore to expand the capacity by 4 MTPA and is likely to be executed in five years, he said.
JSW officials, however, did not respond to the queries sent to them in this regard.
The flagship company of the JSW Group operates a 6.8 MTPA steel plant at Toranagallu in Bellary district of Karnataka.
Baligar said the company has already signed a pact with the state government for expanding capacity in the global investors's meet in June.
Meanwhile the state government would allot the company about 200 acres of land needed for laying a railway line from the mine heads from where it sources iron ore to its steel plant.
JSW Steel is the largest manufacturer and exporter of certain special steel products.
