Odisha govt to float special unit to ease worries for steel sector

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has already given his nod for the unit

The Odisha government has planned to form a special steel directorate to ease problems faced by the units with respect to land acquisition and raw material availability and also draw more investments in the sector.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has already given his nod for the directorate.

"The steel directorate will be formed on the lines of the existing mines directorate. It will address the whole gamut of problems faced by the steel industries", said state steel & mines minister Prafulla Mallick.

Industry watchers feel the move to form the steel directorate stems from ArcelorMittal's decision to abort its mega steel project in the state and also Posco's recent announcement to temporarily freeze its proposed $12 billion steel mill near Paradeep.

The steel directorate would be headed by an officer of the rank of additional secretary.

The new directorate, which will only work on issues pertaining to the steel industry, plans to appoint a Steel Consultant from the corporate sector. The consultant would advise the state government on attracting investment into the state and towards solving the issues faced by the industry.

Odisha has seen a rush of investment proposals in the steel sector. The state government has signed MoUs (memorandum of understanding) with 48 players, envisaging a combined capacity of 83 million tonne with investments totaling to over Rs two lakh crore.

Steel units have already grounded investments of the order of Rs 1.2 lakh crore. However, they were grappling with an array of problems like unavailability of ore at optimal prices, steep logistics cost of ore and high water cess.