BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday asserted that the proposed mega steel plant in Keonjhar district was very much on track and the project has progressed two steps ahead.
On a two-day visit to his home district, the chief minister took a comprehensive review of major industrial, infrastructure and development projects including the mega steel plant proposed to be set up jointly by JSW and POSCO with an investment of around Rs 40,000 crore in Patna area.
He took stock of the progress in identification of land for the project and steps taken for acquisition. He later told mediapersons that the project has moved two-step ahead with one of the project proponent already depositing money for land acquisition. “Apart from the mega steel plant, nine industrial projects will be set up in the district and necessary steps are being taken for their expeditious grounding,” Majhi said. The district administration has identified two patches of land, one at Taramakanta village under Banspal block, about 47 km from the Keonjhar town, and another at Patna for the steel plant.
During his February visit to the district, the chief minister had announced that a mega steel plant will be jointly set up by JSW and POSCO there. He had further announced that other steel industries would be set up in various parts of the district with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore.
The JSW Group, led by Sajjan Jindal, signed an MoU with the state government on Januaray 8, during the Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha Conclave, to establish a 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant in Keonjhar. In October last year, JSW and South Korean steel major POSCO had signed an MOU to set up an integrated steel plant in India with initial capacity of 5 MTPA. However, the companies have not disclosed the location yet.
The chief minister is pursuing the steel plant project in Keonjhar and has constituted a task force headed by chief secretary Manoj Ahuja for the purpose.