Orissa Government Clears $23.5 Billion for Metals and Power Sectors

The High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) of Orissa's (India) government, led by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has given clearance to $25.3 billion worth of projects. Most of the investments will be in the iron, steel and power sectors. According to reports from Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX), the projects that have received clearance include:

• ? A proposal by National Aluminium Company (NALCO) (Bhubaneswar, India) to set up a 500,000-ton-per-year aluminum smelting unit and a 1,260-megawatt (MW) captive power plant in Brajrajnagar with an investment of $3.2 billion. The power plant will be completed in two stages: 840 MW in the first phase and 420 MW in the second. NALCO has requested 575.7 hectares of land for the power plant and 275.33 hectares for the smelter. Although the proposal has been cleared, NALCO may be asked to identify another location to set up the project.
• ? A proposal by Navayuga Steel (Hyderabad, India) to set up a 12 million-ton-per-year steel mill. The $6.7 billion mill will be completed in four stages and be located in Astaranga. Though the company has requested 1,616 hectares of land, the final decision on land allocation will be taken by HLCA after a detailed project report is completed.
• ? JSW Steel Limited's (Mumbai, India) 5 million-ton-per-year pelletization plant and a 7 million-ton-per-year iron ore beneficiation plant in the Sundergarh district. The combined investment will be about $287 million.

• ? Welspun Power and Steel Limited's (Mumbai, India) $389 million proposal to set up a 4.4 million-ton-per-year pelletization unit in Dhamra and a 4.5 million-ton-per-year year iron ore beneficiation plant in Nayagraha in the Keonjhar district.
• ? Jindal Stainless' (New Delhi, India) $3.2 billion proposal to increase the production capacity of its Kalinganagar complex plant from 1.6 million tons per year to 3.2 million tons per year.
• ? Visa Steel's (Kolkata, India) $988.7 million expansion proposal for a steel mill from 350,000 tons per year to 1.5 million tons per year.
• ? Proposals by POSCO India (Bhubaneswar) and ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg) to set up 12 million-ton-per-year steel mills in Orissa.
• ? Astaranga Power Company's plans to set up a 2,600-MW thermal power plant on 1,010 hectares of land with an investment of $2.2 billion.
• ? RSB Metal Technologies' $1.3 billion proposal to build an integrated alumina complex.
• ? Bhushan Power and Steel Limited's (New Delhi) $387 million proposal to set up 11 industrial downstream units in Thelkoloi of the Jharsuguda district.
• ? An $810 million proposal by Jindal Stainless to set up a 1,000-MW power plant. The company had plans to set up the power plant in the Dhenkanal district, but the HLCA has asked the company to consider another location.
• ? Aarti Steel's (Cuttack, India) 500-MW power plant in Ghantikal.
• ? Chambal Infrastructure and Ventures Limited's (New Delhi) $988.7 million, 1,200-MW power plant in Siaria in the Dhenkanal district.

Recently, the state government issued a directive mandating companies that have received approvals to set up industrial projects in the state to employ local people. The memorandums of understanding for all new projects will include this clause. The necessary amendments to this effect will be made in the memorandums of understanding of old and ongoing projects, as well. In the unskilled and semi-skilled category, 90 percent of the recruitment must be from the state. In the supervisory and managerial levels, the companies must hire 60 percent and 30 percent, respectively, locally. A district governing body will oversee recruitment.