Local Indian sources have reported that Indian steelmaker JSW Steel is determined to push through its project for a 10 million mt steel plant at Salboni, in West Midnapore, located just 15 kilometers from Lalgarh in West Bengal, the centre of the Maoist insurgency.
JSW Steel's vice chairman and managing director Sajjan Jindal said, "It's scary and very upsetting. There will be negative people. We are aware that it is not an easy part of the country... But we have to push this project through."
With areas in rural Bengal faced with Maoist violence, Indian steel players such as JSW Steel, Jai Balaji and Shyam Steel have found themselves in a tense wait-and-see situation. Incidentally, all the above steelmakers have announced projects in the Maoist-infested areas of West Midnapore and Purulia.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, JSW Steel has decided to postpone its project by almost a year.
Asked whether the current situation in West Midnapore had anything to do with the delay, JSW Bengal CEO Biswadip Gupta told reporters, "We are concerned about the ground reality, but the decision to defer the first phase of the project is because of the downturn in the global steel industry. This unfortunate issue (Maoist terror) has cropped up now."
However, analysts have stated that the impact of the current situation cannot be ignored considering that Maoist leader Bikash has publicly announced to the media his plans to continue the movement against the proposed steel plant and the special economic zone.
Mr. Gupta, for his part, said, "At present it is not safe or prudent to work now...it's a wait-and-watch policy," adding, "We are utilizing this time to do some enabling work like getting the coal mine ready and putting our logistics in place."
Meanwhile, JSW Steel is considering increasing its hot rolled and cold rolled prices in July in order to meet higher raw material costs.
"We are reviewing prices. It will depend on product to product," said JSW Steel sales and marketing director Jayant Acharya.
According to Mr. Acharya, galvanized steel prices may also be raised due to sharp increases in zinc prices. However, JSW may lower longs prices such as billets and rebars as the annual monsoon season slows down building activity.