The government of the eastern Indian state of Odisha has approved the proposal of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited (AMNS) to construct a greenfield steel mill with a capacity of 24 million mt per annum, double the project originally envisaged, a government official said on Monday, December 20.
The official said that there will be an investment to tune of $13.46 billion in the steel mill, along with a cement production unit of 18 million mt per year capacity and downstream steel value-added units.
The steel mill will be built on 6,000 acres in close proximity to the Thakurani and Sagasahi iron ore mines, which AMNS secured through the recently held auction of iron ore mines by the Odisha government, the official said.
The production from the two mines is currently at 10 million mt per year and could be ramped up to 15 million mt and offer full raw material security for the steel mill which is to be constructed in phases over the next seven years, and AMNS has the option to bid for more iron ore mines that Odisha will put up for auction over the next few years, the official said.
The proposed AMNS project will produce high grade specialty steel through use of ‘green steel making technology’, as well as a 6 million mt per year pellet plant and a captive jetty at Subarnarekha port being developed by the Tatas, he said.