Keonjhar: JSW Steel and South-Korean steel major, POSCO will jointly set up a steel plant in mineral-rich Kendujhar district, announced Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today.
During his visit to home district Keonjhar, the Chief Minister said that a memorandum of agreement has already been signed by both companies and their joint venture company will set up a steel plant in his district.
“I had held discussions with JSW and POSCO during road shows held in Delhi and Mumbai. In the meantime, they have signed an MoU to set up an integrated steel plant. They have also mentioned that the plant will be jointly set up in Keonjhar. It is in the pipeline and will certainly see the light of the day,” Shri Majhi told reporters here.
The MOU signing event took place on October 21 in Mumbai in presence of Posco Chairman and CEO Chang In-hwa and JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal. They have decided to set up a 5 million tonnes per annum steel plant in India. However, the companies have not revealed the place where the plant would be set up in their press statements till now.
Since the BJP came to power in the State, the Chief Minister has been emphasizing on establishment of a mega steel plant in his home district, which is the hub of iron ore in the country.
The State government has also constituted a dedicated task force, headed by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, to accelerate the pace of industrialization in the State, with specific focus on Keonjhar district.
One of the major mineral-producing districts of the state, Keonjhar is still underdeveloped and lacks large-scale industries.
The Industries Department has identified two patches of land for the proposed project in the district. One patch, around 2,500 acres, is located near Odisha Tea Plantation Ltd (OTPL) at the Taramakant area under Banspal block, while another 1,956 acres is at Patna, which was initially offered to steel major ArcelorMittal, the sources said.
This could be POSCO’s second attempt in Odisha after nearly two decades and the second joint venture in the country in two years.
Its earlier attempt in 2005 to set up a 12 MTPA plant in the State was shelved due to land acquisition hurdles. In 2022, the South Korean steel major signed a $5 billion deal with Adani Group for an integrated steel mill at Mundra in Gujarat.
The land identified for the POSCO project in Jagatsinghpur district has been later transferred to JSW, which has decided to set up its own 13.2 MTPA integrated steel manufacturing complex with an investment of Rs 65,000 crore at Paradip.