Amid quality raw material scarcity, fall in demand for steel in Europe, decline in global investor confidence, resistance and slow pace of progress in some of the Greenfield projects at home, Tata Steel remains optimistic of staying on growth course.

Mr H.M. Nerurkar, Managing Director, of one of the biggest steel makers in the world, in a free-wheeling interaction with media persons here on ,Friday gave an impression that though the time was difficult Tata Steel was drawing on its sinews to forge ahead.

He said Orissa projects were progressing well though the Chhattisgarh project did not move ahead.

“Our credit rating remains good. The company will stick to 1:1 debt equity ratio. The financing aspect of the proposed projects of the company is to be taken one by one,” he said.

Mr Nerurkar said Tata Steel as an anchor-investor of the Gopalpur industrial park project decided to put up a 0.6-million tonne per annum rolling mill and a 50,000-tonne per annum ferro-chrome plant. Pellets from Jamshedpur plant would feed the proposed rolling mill.

Construction work for the two projects would begin in the first quarter of FY13.

Meanwhile, the foundations for the sinter plant and blast furnace for the 3-million tonne (first phase) at Kalinganagar has been laid. According to him, the Orissa Government has assured supply of iron ore for the project (phase I) scheduled to be commissioned by March 2014.

In terms of the sourcing and using metallurgical coal, the key element that is bugging steel makers in India, he said that Tata Steel opted for a new North American source for its operations here. Mr Nerurkar indicated it would be routed through Dhamra port, which is expected to let in capesize vessels regularly from October following a dredging exercise.

He was dismayed by the fact that the Goa unit of Tata Metaliks, Tata Steel's pig iron-making subsidiary, might face serious iron ore supply problem if its source in Karnataka continues to remain dry for more than a week.

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