A consortium of China's state owned Sinosteel Corp and Chinese steel firms, possibly including Baosteel Group, are planning to set up a Greenfield 3 million to 5 million tonnes integrated long product steel project along with iron ore mines in the state of Orissa in India.

Mr Huang Tianwen president of Sinosteel said that "India needs steel for infrastructure, ports, roads, railways etcetera. They are 10 to 15 years behind China. The success of the talks depends on the attitude of the Indian government.”

Chinese firms have in the past expressed interest in investing in Indian iron ore mines but had been blocked by Indian interests that want to use India's ore to develop its own steel industry. The Chinese firms are now pursuing a combined steel and ore investment as a response to the Indian restrictions.