Arcelor Mittal, the world"s largest and most global steel company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the State of Orissa in India concerning setting up a steel making operation in the Keonijhar District.

The company now intends to undertake a Detailed Project Report (DPR) based on the needs of the steel plant. This would include captive mining facilities, captive power supply, water supply infrastructure and other facilities as required including setting up townships for its employees.

The project is expected to entail an investment of approximately $9 billion. The intention is to build an integrated steel plant with a total annual capacity of 12 million tonnes. The project would be developed in two phases of 6 million tonnes each. It is expected that the first phase would be completed within 48 months from the date of the submission of the DPR and the second phase within a further 54 months after the completion of Phase 1.

Arcelor Mittal president and CEO, Lakshmi N. Mittal says: "We have always said that we want to have an operational presence in India . The Indian economy is demonstrating excellent growth and steel consumption is set to increase considerably in the future. Orissa is well known for its rich mineral reserves and as such is an ideal location for such a greenfield venture. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has done an excellent job in attracting foreign investment to the region and it is showing signs of becoming one of the major steel industry hubs of the future." www.arcelor.com

News sourced from International Mining Project News - www.im-mining.com