Posco, Tata Steel & others show interest in NMDC Bastar steel plan

The 3-mtpa steel project has been earmarked by the Centre for sale to strategic buyers

Leading steel companies across the globe are showing interest in buying the Nagarnaar steel plant of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), which is coming up in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district.

The plant is among the entities that the government has earmarked under its ambitious plan to sell loss-making state-owned companies, subsidiaries and select manufacturing plants to strategic buyers. The three-million tonne-per-annum (mtpa) steel plant is expected to start trial production by mid-2017. 

A team from South Korea's Posco recently visited Bastar and inspected the project. NMDC is investing about Rs 20,000 crore in the project, which has been part of its expansion, value addition and forward integration programme, and is likely to be commissioned by mid-2017. The state-owned company has major mining facilities in the Dantewada district of Bastar.

Though Posco officials could not be contacted, officials in the Bastar district administration confirmed the visit of the South Korean company’s executives. 
 

Besides Posco, Tata Steel, which had abandoned its 5-mtpa steel plant plan in Bastar six months ago, has also expressed interest in the project.

Tata Steel officials did not respond to enquiries sent to the company. The company had quit the Bastar plan after failing to acquire the land and develop the iron-ore mine it was allotted in the region, because of Naxal threats.

A senior NMDC official said the Nagarnaar project was a viable deal for any company. "Neither will there be an issue or clash for land nor will there be any issues regarding raw material," the official said, elaborating that the land had been acquired for the state-owned NMDC and the construction work of the plant was in the final stage. Clearances had even been granted for an iron-ore mine that would meet the raw material requirement of the plant.