Phailin to delay Saraf's titanium project

Kolkata-based company was gearing up to start construction work this month

The construction work of the Rs 1,200-crore titanium dioxide plant proposed by Saraf Agencies Private Limited (SAPL) near Chhatrapur in Odisha’s Ganjam district is likely to be delayed due to the devastating cyclone Phailin.

The Kolkata-based company was gearing up to start the construction work this month. However, the company is still awaiting the nod of the district administration to start work at the site.

“The cyclone has delayed our plan to start construction on the titanium plant,” said a company official.

“The Ganjam collector is now busy with the relief and restoration work. We will wait for some days to discuss with the administration on the start of work,” said SL Modi, senior general manager, SAPL.

Meanwhile, the company has already agreed to pay an extra compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre to the land-losers. SAPL would bear an additional cost of Rs 80 lakh for the purpose. The amount would be paid to the land-losers after starting the construction work, he said.

SAPL had acquired around 230 acres of land, including 199-acres of private land for the project, about five years ago. Around 300 people of four villages — Tikiria Berhampur, Kanamana, Chandrapada and Mayipatna had given their land for the project.

The land valuation then ranged from Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per acre. “We want the company to expedite its work along with the relief and reconstruction operation in the cyclone affected areas,” said Bipra Acharya, advisor, Titanium Plant Land Losers’ Association (TPLA).

Initially, Saraf Agencies planned to develop the project through a joint venture (JV) with two Russian state owned firms. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Titanium Products Private Ltd was formed on January 29, 2008.

However, the JV partners had sparred over controversial manner of allotment of land by Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco). Idco had allotted land for the titanium project to Saraf Agencies at Chhatrapur but the Russian promoters opposed it, demanding land allocation in the name of the SPV.

Later, Saraf Agencies had volunteered to develop the titanium project on its own and sought approval from the state government to perform ground breaking ceremony.

In the first phase, SAPL has decided to produce 10,000 tonne per annum (tpa) of high titanium slag and 6,000 tpa of high purity pig iron. Around Rs 100-crore will be invested in the first phase of the project which aimed to start commercial production from May 2014.