The world's largest steelmaker Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2006 with the government of the India state of Orissa to invest Rupees 400 billion for a planned 12 million mt per year capacity steel plant in the Keonjhar district of Orissa. The steel firm requires around 7,750 acres for its greenfield plant. In this context, Orissa Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty has lately stated, "There is a lot of progress happening on the land acquisition front at the project site. We are optimistic over ArcelorMittal's Project." Chairman of India's Industrial Development Corporation (IDCO), Priyabrata Patnaik, said, "Things are moving at a fast pace as far as land acquisition is concerned."
As SteelOrbis stated previously, the Indian authorities recently gave final environmental clearance for South Korean steelmaker POSCO's 12 million mt capacity steel plant in the Jagatsinghpur district.