India's Tata Steel, the world's sixth largest steelmaker, has announced that the deadline for the commissioning of the first phase of its planned $5 billion integrated steel plant in Vietnam has been pushed back to 2010 at least. The project has been delayed due to problems regarding land acquisitions in the special economic zone where large numbers of companies are setting up projects.
Tata Steel previously entered into a joint venture with Vietnam Steel Corporation and Vietnam Cement Industries for building an integrated steel mill in the province of Ha Tinh. The project has already been approved by Vietnam's planning department but is facing opposition from a Taiwanese company which intends to set its own plant on 1,100 hectares of land.
Tata Steel's new steel plant is planned to have an annual capacity of 4.6 million mt of steel, with Tata holding a 65 percent stake in the project.