Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik asks Sajjan Jindal to fast-track Rs 53,700-crore steel project at Jatadhar in Jagatsinghpur district saying, "I am interested in you to start work on the Jagatsinghpur project as soon as possible."
JSW Steel to fast-track Jagatsinghpur steel project
According to a release issued by the Chief Minister's office (CMO), they are pushing for early commencement of work at the site. The State Government has already allocated land, water and power for the project. The project is being fast-tracked to begin work at the earliest.
Spoke to noted industrialist @sajjanjindal and discussed about the progress of @jswsteel’s Integrated Steel Project in Jagatsinghpur and other projects. Stressed on maximum value addition within #Odisha to create jobs for our youths & accelerate revenue generation. #MakeInOdisha pic.twitter.com/eGl687PzWY
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 24, 2020
Assuring the Chief Minister of plans being on track, Sajjan Jindal, chair and managing director of JSW Group of companies said, "We are fully committed to the Jagatsinghpur project and getting full support from all the machinery within the state of Odisha. We are very committed to the state of Odisha. We are the first company to start working on mines and the movement of material has also started. We are tying up with IIM Sambalpur for creating a school which will work on a long-term plan for development of Odisha - to take Odisha to a trillion-dollar economy."
During the conversation, Naveen Patnaik stressed on maximum value addition within Odisha, to create jobs for youths and accelerate revenue generation within the state.
Posco ban, local resistance and other project developments
Posco had earlier entered into a pact with the Government in 2005 to set up the Rs 52,000-crore steel unit but was forced to drop the plan after facing stiff opposition from locals for more than a decade.
In 2017, Posco had to abandon the project, almost after a decade and more of signing the MoU with the government to build the steel plant, owing to local resistance at the project site and lack of dedicated iron ore mines. Hence, this 13.2 million tonne per annum steel project by JSW Steel is of particular significance to the locals of the state of Odisha.
JSW also plans to invest over Rs 1 lakh crore in Odisha over the next decade. Besides, JSW Steel will establish a 100-bed hospital and a school at Koida in Sundargarh in PPP mode with an objective to develop mining areas for the benefit of locals, according to a news report.
JSW is also tying up with IIM-Sambalpur to create the 'JSW Centre for Development Studies for Odisha'.
