By IANS,
Raipur : Dozens of steel and power companies have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to set up plants in mineral rich Chhattisgarh by 2010, resulting in a total investment of Rs.3.26 trillion, an official said Friday.
“Since December 2003 we have inked deals with various business houses for a total investment of Rs.3.26 trillion in the steel and power sectors. The projects are to be completed by 2010,” Rajesh Munat, Chhattisgarh’s Industries and Commerce Minister, told IANS.
“Out of the Rs.3.26 trillion, Rs.1.69 trillion will be invested in the coal-fired power sector alone, with almost all the plants to be installed in the coal abundant northern districts of Korba, Raigarh, Bilaspur and Surguja,” he added.
He said most of the steel plants, including those of Tata and Essar, will come up in southern iron ore rich region of Bastar.
The minister said companies invested Rs.130 billion in the state in last fiscal.
Tata Steel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chhattisgarh government in June 2005 to set up a five million tonnes per annum (MTPA) plant in Bastar district’s Lohandiguda block with an investment of Rs.100 billion. Essar Steel too struck a deal in the same month for a 3.2 MTPA plant in Dhurli and Bhansi villages of Dantewada district with an investment of Rs.70 billion.
“Industrialists are lining up to pour money into Chhattisgarh because we have created an administrative hazards-free environment for them. Their proposals get cleared in a short time and on a high priority basis,” Munat said.
“They are also impressed by the huge availability of the finest quality of iron ore and coal besides government commitment to provide enough water and land for proposed plants,” he said.
He added that investment proposals worth about Rs.100 billion are pending as the government is assessing “whether the state can back them with raw materials and suitable sites”.