Tata Steel to set up titanium dioxide project

CHENNAI: Tata Steel, the country's biggest maker of the alloy, on Thursday said it will set up a Rs 2,500 crore unit for producing titanium dioxide in south Tamil Nadu.

The company on Thursday inked an MoU with the state government for the project, nearly five years after it had inked a pact with the then AIADMK government.

Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman signed the MoU with Tamil Nadu Industries Secretary Shakthikanda Das in the presence of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata here.

The original MoU was signed in 2002 but the project did not take off.

According to the new pact, Tata Steel would produce titanium dioxide from ilmenite mined from beach sands of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts.

"It is a significant project for Tata in Tamil Nadu. The project will create considerable employment opportunities," Ratan Tata said.

Muthuraman said under the project, to be implemented over a period of six years, ilmenite present on the surface of land would be converted to titanium dioxide, used as a base for pigments in paint industry.

He said India was importing about 70,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide every year as there was only one manufacturer as of now. "The project will be serving India's needs, besides helping in the development of Tamil Nadu. It will prove to be a boon to the local population especially in drought-prone areas where agriculture is not the main source of income."