The Hindu Business Line : JSW may locate alumina plant in Vizianagaram

The controversial alumina smelter plant of Jindal Steel Works (JSW) seems all set to move to Vizianagaram district, with the company confident of acquiring about 1,500 acres of land there.

The project, with a phase one investment of Rs 4,000 crore in a refinery, initiated nearly two years ago, was originally planned at Sabbavaram village, about 60 km in the neighbouring district of Visakhapatnam.

"The State Government has offered 1,500 acres in S. Kota in Vizianagaram, of which 200 acres belong to private parties. By March 2007, we will be able to complete the land acquisition," said Mr Sajjan Jindal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of JSW.

Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of a workshop on steel in construction, Mr Jindal said that there was not much opposition from the people for the project.

It was more to do with the proposed mining activity for bauxite in areas that fall under the Araku Valley and tribal areas.

Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC), which is partnering JSW, has agreed to undertake the mining and supply the bauxite ore to the project; hence, the company does not see much controversy or opposition, he said.

This project has longer gestation period and once it gets under way, about 30 months would be required for getting into operation mode. Tying up finances for the projects is not a big issue for the company, he said.

On the company's plans, he said that from four million tonnes output currently, it plans to upscale production to 10 million tonnes by 2010. The increase will come from the existing plants in Vijayanagar, Mr Jindal said.

On the iron ore export policy, he said that the Government should be more responsive to the demands of the domestic steel players to use the ore for value addition than export. The steel industry is trying to impress on the Government on the issue.

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