September 07, 2008

Chhattisgarh asks NMDC to expedite Romelt based steel plant

BS reported that Chhattisgarh government is threatening to ban transportation of mineral from India’s biggest iron ore producer and exporter National Mineral Development Corporation facilities if it fails to initiate the process of setting up its proposed steel plant in Bastar region of Chattisgarh.

Dr Raman Singh chief minister of Chattisgarh told reporters that “The state government is giving all facilities to set up the plant in the tribal dominated Bastar region. But it will not entertain delay. If the company delayed the project further, the government would cancel the land allotted to the NMDC and give it to others willing to set up the plant.’

Mr Singh added that the state government could even consider banning the transportation of iron ore from the NMDC facilities in the state.

NMDC’s proposal for the plant was finalized in early 1990s but the foundation stone was laid in September 2003. The INR 300 crore project of NMDC was to come up with the unique Romelt technology developed by Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys of Russia.

The NMDC Iron and Steel Plant at Nagarnaar, about 20 kilometer from the headquarters of Bastar in Jagdalpur, was planned to produce 300,000 tonnes of pig iron per annum in the first phase and 1.5 million tonnes per annum in the final phase by adding two more modules of 0.6 million tonnes each. A total 403 hectares of land was acquired, including 288.99 hectares of private land and 114.01 hectares of government land. A boundary wall constructed by the company is the only work completed so far.

The report cites some NMDC officials as saying that the cost of Romelt technology had increased considerably, forcing the company to put the steel plant proposal on hold. They added that the company was now considering another proposal to set up a sponge iron unit at the proposed site.