After Posco, the Orissa government is now making an all-out effort to woo another global steel giant — MMK of Russia. The state government, has nominated its bureaucrat Gokul Chandra Pati, principal secretary of industries, to take the initiative.
"After Posco, we are quite hopeful to attract yet another big foreign direct investment and for that purpose, we are negotiating with the MMK of Russia. The company is now studying the conditions in the state and a decision on their investment plan is expected to be finalised soon," Mr Pati told reporters at Hanover on the sidelines of the international trade fair. A technical team of MMK, said Mr Pati, has already visited three sites, Gopalpur, Dhamra and Keonjhar, and are understood to have expressed satisfaction over the conditions to set up a steel plant.
Although the Magnitogorsh-based Russian steel maker is yet to finalise any of the three sites, government sources said the company is contemplating more on Gopalpur in Ganjam district since the place has a natural port.
At present, the port is being developed into an all-weather port by a consortium led by Orissa Stevedores Limited. The sources added that MMK has already conducted a feasibility study for desalination of water in the region which is deficient in fresh water. The MMK is one of Russia’s largest steel companies with an installed capacity of about 12 million tonnes. The company had indicated its plans to set up a steel plant during a recent meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Russian president Vladimir Putin and industry leaders.
Industries secretary Pati informed that the state government was giving utmost priority on infrastructure building to prospective investors. "Orissa is rich in mineral resources. We are now focusing on infrastructure development such as rail and road connectivity for giving a further boost to our industrialisation process," Mr Pati said at a recent meeting of industrialists and port authorities in Bhubaneswar.
"After Posco, we are quite hopeful to attract yet another big foreign direct investment and for that purpose, we are negotiating with the MMK of Russia. The company is now studying the conditions in the state and a decision on their investment plan is expected to be finalised soon," Mr Pati told reporters at Hanover on the sidelines of the international trade fair. A technical team of MMK, said Mr Pati, has already visited three sites, Gopalpur, Dhamra and Keonjhar, and are understood to have expressed satisfaction over the conditions to set up a steel plant.
Although the Magnitogorsh-based Russian steel maker is yet to finalise any of the three sites, government sources said the company is contemplating more on Gopalpur in Ganjam district since the place has a natural port.
At present, the port is being developed into an all-weather port by a consortium led by Orissa Stevedores Limited. The sources added that MMK has already conducted a feasibility study for desalination of water in the region which is deficient in fresh water. The MMK is one of Russia’s largest steel companies with an installed capacity of about 12 million tonnes. The company had indicated its plans to set up a steel plant during a recent meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Russian president Vladimir Putin and industry leaders.
Industries secretary Pati informed that the state government was giving utmost priority on infrastructure building to prospective investors. "Orissa is rich in mineral resources. We are now focusing on infrastructure development such as rail and road connectivity for giving a further boost to our industrialisation process," Mr Pati said at a recent meeting of industrialists and port authorities in Bhubaneswar.