Differences over choice of equity partners for a special purpose vehicle (SPV) has stalled the proposed 6 million mt per year steel mill in the eastern Indian province of Orissa, an official at
India's Ministry of Steel said on Tuesday, May 26.
The official said that the choice of equity partners will be restricted to government-owned steel and
mining companies, but differences have surfaced over which of these companies will be best suited to implement the project through a joint venture SPV.
Initially, the government proposed that the greenfield steel mill would be implemented by a joint venture of NMDC Limited, the country's largest iron ore miner, and Orissa
Mining Corporation (OMC) which is owned and controlled by the provincial government of Orissa, the official said. However, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), which has operated a stand-alone steel mill in the southern Indian port town of Vishakhapatnam, has joined in seeking an equity stake in the project as well.
In this context, the Ministry of Steel is trying to replace RINL with Steel Authority of
India Limited (SAIL) as an equity partner, the ministry official said. Since SAIL and NMDC are already working together in a joint venture for another greenfield steel mill in the central Indian province of Chhattisgarh, the duo would also work in tandem for the Orissa project.