JSPL seeks 1,000 acres more land to attain 6 mt steel making capacity

Leading private sector steel maker Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has sought allotment of 1,000 acres of additional land to achieve full steelmaking capacity of six million tonne per annum at its Angul facility.

We need additional 1,000 acres of land to expand steelmaking capacity from two mtpa to six mtpa. Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol) has assessed our land requirement. Our two mtpa facility has come up on 2,500 acres. We have also requested the state government to extend our lapsed MoU (memorandum of understanding), said Manish Kharbanda, executive director, JSPL.

JSPL has already invested Rs 22,000 crore on its steel project in Odisha. Commissioning of six mtpa capacity can take investment beyond Rs 40,000 crore. JSPL needs 4,300 acres for its six mtpa plant.

Presently, the company is not having possession of 1,800 acres though the land has already been acquired. The steel firm has urged the state government to hand over possession of this acquired land to enable it begin work on the remaining facilities.

The land reassessment study for JSPL has been done jointly by Ipicol and Engineers India Ltd, a Government of India consultant.

Kharbanda said, JSPL is also moving ahead on the proposed steel downstream park.

JSPL is committed to the downstream park. We are going to submit the plan for the park soon, he said.

The downstream park will come up at Parang in Angul district at an investment of Rs 500 crore. It is expected to attract investments of Rs 5,000 crore besides generating employment opportunities for 32,000 people, both direct and indirect. The park is also set to generate tax revenue of Rs 700 crore per annum for the state government.

The industries targeted for the park include steel rolling and other mills for downstream steel products, forging units, beam welding plants, ferroalloy units, pipe manufacturing units, galvanizing and colour coating units, foundries as well as food processing and coal storage units.

JSPL has earlier successfully implemented an industrial park at Punjipathra in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, fuelling development and growth in the state.