JSPL plans Rs 12,000 crore investment this year

NEW DELHI: Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) today said it plans an investment of about Rs 12,000 crore this year for its ongoing 6.5 million tonne steel plant in Odisha besides setting up a power plant in Jharkhand.


"We would be investing this year something like Rs 12,000 crore," JSPL's Managing Director and CEO Ravi Uppal told reporters on the sidelines of a coal conference here.

"We have an onway expansion programme. We are building 6.5 million tonnes steel plant in Odisha which is underway...Then we started the Godda project in Jharkhand. So they form the main part of our investment," he said.

When asked whether the company is looking at acquiring iron mines overseas he said, "In the past we have taken two mines which is not for iron ore but for coal. One of them is in Mozambique."

Uppal declined to comment on a querry regarding issue of show-cause notices to the company recently for not developing its two coal blocks--Utkal B-1 and Ramchandi, Uppal

"I don't want to talk about it any more," Uppal said. Indicating a shift in company's strategy, the JSPL MD had earlier said that his firm has now started looking at locations in Southern India, particularly Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to set up power plants and aimed to have a total capacity of 10,000 MW by 2020.

Till now, the company has set up power plants adjoining its steel mills, be it in Raigarh, Tamnar, Angul, Patratu or Godda. Besides, it is now planning to set up only large power projects having units of 600 MW and above.