Odisha to renew MoU with ArcelorMittal soon

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government today said there was no difficulty in renewing its MoU with the world's largest steel-maker, ArcelorMittal, which had proposed to set up a 12 million tonnes per annum steel facility in Keonjhar district at an investment of Rs 40,000 crore.

"We are now working on renewing the MoU with ArcelorMittal. The MoU will remain effective for five years," Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty told reporters.

Stating that 'gram sabha' (public hearings) have been held in five villages so far, the minister said a notification for land acquisition had already been made.

ArcelorMittal had signed an MoU with the state government on December 21, 2006, which expired on December 22, 2011. The company had applied for renewal of the MoU on December 8, 2011.