Fis Ask S K Birla Group To Review Haldia Project

The S K Birla group's Rs 600 crore iron manufacturing project at Haldia, West Bengal, will be reviewed again after the promoters acquire 300 acres of land later this month.

According to a group source, the promoters have been asked by financial institutions to conduct a complete review as there has been a six-month delay in land procurement by the state government for the project. The venture was more or less put on hold due to the delay in land allotment. It was supposed to be allotted in December 1996.

The promoters have already paid up Rs 3 crore, which is 50 per cent of the total land cost at the rate of Rs 2 lakh per acre. According to a state government official, the demand for land at Haldia is more than what can be acquired in a short time. However, the process will be completed by the end of this month.

The promoters are also negotiating with Tata Korf for a technical tie-up for the project.

It is obvious there will be a change in the financial profile of the project as costs are likely to get altered in the six-month period, a source said. It is believed a new investment pattern will be chalked out once the land is

allotted.

The project entails setting up of an integrated iron-making complex, which will have a series of plants essential for iron manufacture, such as pig iron, slag cement, a captive power plant, foundries, coke oven batteries and many other features of vertical and backward integration.

The project would be executed in a phased manner. There will be an initial investment of Rs 150 crore for the pig iron plant with a capacity of 2.25 lakh tonnes per annum.

The slag cement plant will occupy about 50 acres and will have a capacity between 2 and 4 lakh tonnes per annum.

The project, christened Birla Metals, is a major expansion programme of the Rs 1500-crore group whose core areas constitute textile, heavy chemicals, cement, plastics, heavy engineering and international trade. The non-core areas include industrial meters, telecom components and soya oil.

The combined turnover of the core areas is around Rs 1,373 crore.