The Hindu Business Line : Bengal signs pact with Videocon, Jai Balaji

New investments: The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, with the Chairman, Videocon Group, Mr Venugopal N. Dhoot, at a function on Thursday in Kolkata where a memorandum of agreement between Videocon Industries and the Bengal Government was signed.

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Oct 4 The West Bengal Government has signed memoranda of agreement (MoA) with Videocon Industries Ltd and Jai Balaji Industries Ltd for the setting up of steel and power capacities in the State at an aggregate investment of Rs 31,000 crore.

The MoA was inked at two separate functions that were held here on Thursday in the presence of the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and the State Minister for Industries & Commerce, Mr Nirupam Sen.

The MoA envisages the setting up of an integrated steel plant of three million tonnes per annum (tpa) capacity and a 1,200 MW power plant in the Asansol-Durgapur region of Burdwan district. The total investment in the steel manufacturing facility and the power plant has been pegged at Rs 15,000 crore.

Investment

The investment would be made through a special purpose vehicle of the Videocon group. A US-based partner would be roped in for the project even as the plant would manufacture special grade and value added steel products.

According to Mr Venugopal N. Dhoot, Chairman of the Videocon group, the project would be spread over 3,500 acres of land. It would provide direct and indirect employment to around 10,000 people.

In Purulia

The Rs 2,000-crore turnover Jai Balaji Group of Industries has also proposed to set up an integrated steel plant of five million tpa capacity along with a captive power plant of 1,215 MW capacity in Purulia district at an estimated investment of Rs 16,000 crore. A cement plant of three million tpa capacity would also be set up. The proposed cement plant would use waste products such as fly ash from the captive power plant. The debt-equity ratio of the project has been pegged at 3:1.

According to Mr Aditya Jajodia, Chairman and Managing Director of the Jai Balaji Group, the steel and power project would be the single-largest investment in Purulia till date. It would be spread over 4,000 acres of land. This would include a township that would be spread over 500 acres. When complete, the project would provide direct and indirect employment to over 50,000 people.

Phase I

Mr Jajodia said the first phase of the project, envisaging the setting up of a two million tpa capacity steel manufacturing facility, would go on stream by 2010. In the first phase, HR coils would be manufactured while the next phase of production would comprise long and flat products. Iron ore required for the project would be sourced from private sources and the Government-owned mines, he said.

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