NMDC open to giving management control in Chhattisgarh project

NMDC will invite fresh expressions of interest (EoI) from companies for its proposed 15,525-crore steel JV project in Chhattisgarh and is also open to offering management control to prospective partner, a top official of the PSU has said.

"We are going to again invite a fresh EoI to widen the base of participants so that we can take a conscious decision. We are yet to float it ... We are open to all options, including offering management control," NMDC Chairman & Managing Director C S Verma told PTI.

Earlier in February, NMDC had invited EoI from steel firms to become a joint venture partner in its 3 million tonnes per annum project at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh and received response from only two firms SAIL and RINL.

Verma said fresh EoI would be floated soon in which the interested parties would have to apply within 20-30 days and based on their responses, NMDC Board will take the final call on the prospective partner.We are yet to float the EoI. We will give at least three weeks to one month's time. We want a strategic partner who can bring the technology. The terms and conditions have not been finalised yet. We have to see all the offers on individual basis," he said.

NMDC was not initially keen to offer management control in the project to prospective partner.

Industry officials said NMDC should have done that in the February EoI itself. Two separate steel-making joint ventures that SAIL and NMDC had thought of earlier involving South Korean Posco and Russia's Severstal respectively did not fructify due to tussle over management control.

The tepid response to the proposed project has surprised officials since NMDC's Nagarnar project is free from hazards of land acquisition.

There are also no issue on uninterrupted iron ore supply to feed the project since NMDC is the largest producer of the raw material. 30%  work on the project has already been completed.