Kolkata, Oct 23:
The Coalgate controversy will not come in the way of expansion of Naveen Jindal-owned Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) at Angul in Odisha, JSPL Director V K Mehta said today.
"The expansion plans which have been firmed up will not get affected with controversies," Mehta said here at the launch of retail brand Jindal Panther.
"We will invest Rs 18,000-20,000 crore over the next three years. This includes 3.5 million tonne expansion at Angul and some investment in the Raigarh steel plant that will add one million tonnes in additional capacity," he said.
JSPL was in news recently as Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written a letter on June 22, 2002 to the then Union Coal and Mines minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for allotment of Utkal B-1 coal mine to it by cancelling an earlier allotment of the coal block to Talcher Mining.
Mehta said JSPL has adequate raw material linkages for the expansion of the Angul plant and the project was on track and schedule.
The company claimed that it does not foresee any financing hurdle and financial closure was under process.
According to the company's portal, JSPL proposes 12.5 MTPA steel in phases and generating 2,600 MW in phases in Odisha.
Mehta said total JSPL's steel making capacity will reach 12 million tonne in the next three years from 7.5 million tonnes (5.5 MT domestic and 2 MT in Oman).
Speaking about the proposed 3 MT steel plant in Jharkhand, Mehta expected that the iron-ore linkage problem there will end soon.
In order to move ahead in the value chain, the company is setting up two green field projects - a re-bar mill and reprocessed steel of 1.4 MT each at Angul and in Oman, respectively, he said.
This will help JSPL to increase its TMT bars and wire capacity to 4.5 MT from 1.6 MT now, Mehta added. (PTI)