The chief minister of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy, has set a deadline of seven weeks for the completion of the selection of qualified bidders from among seven proposals submitted by domestic and foreign companies to construct a greenfield steel mill in the Kadapa district of the state, a government official said on Friday, November 13.
The official said that the chief minister has also set a deadline for commencing construction of the steel mill project within one month of the selection of a qualified investor.
The state government had floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) - AL High Grade Steel Limited - which would represent it as a joint venture partner with a steel company to construct the greenfield steel mill.
The Expression of Interest (EoI) floated earlier this year seeking participants in the joint venture received seven proposals from domestic and foreign steel companies. The state government had already set aside 3,295 acres of land in the state and has also concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with government-run miner NMDC Limited for supplies of iron ore to the proposed steel mill.