KENDRAPARA: 5T Secretary VK Pandian visited the proposed steel plant site of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India in Mahakalapada block here on Thursday. Accompanied by Industries Secretary Hemant Sharma and other senior officials, Pandian examined the map of the area in seaside villages under Petachela gram panchayat. He also held discussions with the locals about the proposed steel plant.
The state government is determined to build a steel plant in the coastal pockets of Kendrapara to put the district on the industrial map of India. A large number of youths in the region will get employment and other opportunities after establishment of the steel plant, he said.
During his Japan tour earlier this month, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced the plan of Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) to build the world’s largest steel plant in Odisha after meeting its president Eiji Hashimoto in Tokyo.
In March 2021, the state government signed an MoU with AM/NS for setting up a 12 MTPA integrated steel plant in Kendrapara with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore. In August of the same year, executive chairman of AM/NS India LN Mittal visited the district to take stock of the land available in Badatubi, Sanatubi, Hetamundia, Kansaradia, Nipania, Petachela, Batighar and other seaside villages for establishment of the proposed steel plant.
Recently, AM/NS India also announced to invest of Rs 1.02 lakh crore to establish a 24 MTPA steel plant with sustainable technologies in Kendrapara, which will be bigger than POSCO’s 23 MTPA steel mill at Gwangyang in South Korea, the world’s largest. On that day, Pandian visited the famous Ramachandi temple in Mahakalapada and other places in the district. Ahead of the 5T secretary’s visit, security was tightened at the proposed steel plant site.