JSW's Bengal project on 'hold'

JSW Steel has put its West Bengal steel and power plant on 'hold' over uncertainty of raw material linkages for the proposed Rs 35,000 crore project.
"We have put the project on hold. Without both raw material (coal and iron-ore) it is very difficult to go ahead with the project," JSW Steel Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal said here today on the sidelines of inauguration of Ispat Pragati Bhavan of Insdag.
He said as JSW Bengal has already invested Rs 700 crore into the project at Salboni, in West Midnapur, it was keen about the project but given the unclear situation about coal and iron-ore it was not practical to go ahead with the project.

JSW Bengal currently do not have either coal or iron-ore linkages for the Salboni project.
However, Jindal said they will bid for the three coal mines, if put on auction, which were offered by the West Bengal government agencies for the proposed 10 million tonne integrated steel plant.
Asked whether JSW will go ahead with the power project in case it won back the coal mines, Jindal said everything will be looked afresh and definitely "We have hope and desire to build industry here (Bengal)."

He says even Bellary's plant situation is better as it has atleast 50 per cent of iron-ore linkages and setting up a slurry pipeline to pump imported iron-ore into plant was not feasible.

JSW was awaiting "minor changes" in its agreement with the West Bengal government before kick-starting construction at its 600 MW power plant at Salboni.
JSW had proposed to sell power to state utilities to the tune of 60 per cent of the generation capacity but West Bengal government had scrapped the power purchase agreement.
The other demand was to change in agreement to allow use of captive coal for power generation.