NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Steel is eyeing a cumulative investment of $70 billion into the eastern region’s steel industry.
Launching the Centre’s Purvodaya programme, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the mission is focused toward the accelerated development of eastern India by establishing an integrated steel hub in the region.
“Whether it is pipelines, inland waterways, shipping, air or road, our Government is building infrastructure at an unprecedented pace. Eastern India holds special focus in our infrastructure development efforts,” said Pradhan during the launch.
The eastern states of India — Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh West Bengal and the Northern part of Andhra Pradesh — collectively hold around 80 per cent of the country’s iron ore, around 100 per cent of coking coal and a significant portion of chromite, bauxite and dolomite reserves.
“There is a presence of major ports such as Paradip, Haldia, Vizag, Kolkata etc., with more than 30 per cent of India’s major port capacity. In India’s march towards a $5 trillion economy, the 5 Eastern states can play a major role where the steel sector can become the catalyst,” said the steel ministry.
The proposed Integrated Steel Hub, encompassing states such as Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Northern Andhra Pradesh, would have the objective of enabling swift capacity addition and improve the overall competitiveness of steel producers, in terms of both cost and quality.