Mittal to meet Orissa CM

BHUBANESWAR: The visit of L N Mittal to India has generated much interest in political and administrative circles here with the steel tycoon expected to discuss investment opportunities in the state during his interaction with Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik here.

This is Mittal's first visit to India after acquiring the world no 2 steel firm Arcelor.

Mittal is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss investment possibilities during his first visit to Orissa, official sources said.

But few could spell out what the discussion would revolve round.

"It appears he may discuss a steel project, but we don't know as yet," a senior official said.

Steel and Mines Minister Padmanav Behera said he had no idea as to what the tycoon had in mind.

Mittal has already signed an MoU with Jharkhand government for setting up a 12 mt steel plant at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore.

The Orissa government has already signed MoUs with 43 different companies for establishment of steel mills of various sizes, the biggest being the one proposed by South Korean steel major POSCO.

POSCO has proposed to set up a 12 mt plant near Paradip at a cost of Rs 52,000 crore.

Several other major players including Tata Steel and Essar have also signed MoUs to set up steel projects.

While Tata Steel intended to locate the plant at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district, Essar had plans to set up the project at Paradip.