Policy matters, iron ore sourcing delaying steel plant: JSW Steel

January 9, 2012 | Business | Written by

Kolkata, Jan 9: JSW Steel Monday said implementation of its proposed 10 million tonnes plant at Salboni in West Midnapore district of West Bengal is being delayed due to issues related to policy matters and iron ore sourcing.

‘There are still a few policy matters that need to be sorted out. The honourable chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) and the honourable industry minister (Partha Chatterjee) just now confirmed that they will take up with the Centre to resolve all those policy matters,’ JSW Steel chairman Sajjan Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of, ‘Bengal Leads 2012′, an exhibition-cum-business summit organised by the West Bengal government, here.

As Bengal is bereft of iron ore reserves, the company will have to depend on the raw material from the neighbouring states like Odisha and Jharkhand.

‘At the moment there is no national policy on iron ore and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get iron ore from a different state. We are in talks with NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation)….they are not in Orissa, they are in Chhattisgarh and they are very far from West Bengal….but there are private mining companies which are willing to supply iron ore to the steel plant.’ Jindal said.

The chairman of the leading steel maker in India also said he was not in favour of mineral resources being exported out of the country.

‘I’ve been very vocal for a long time that mineral resources must not be exported out of the country. It must get value-added within the country, we must export value-added product…I’m not in favour of exporting steel,’ he said.

IANS