Tata Iron & Steel signed a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa state government for its proposed 6 million tpa integrated steel plant in the state, on 17 November 2004.

The project for which Tata Steel made a formal application last month was approved by the high-level Industrial Infrastructure Advisory Committee of the Orissa government, earlier in the month. Following the mandatory IIAC clearance, the Orissa government is now in a position to sign the MoU assuring raw material linkages, land availability and other infrastructure facilities.

Tata Steel is planning to construct facilities for a 6 million tpa integrated steel plant to manufacture hot rolled coils, with an investment of Rs.15,400 crore in two phases. The initial investment in the project is expected to be around Rs.14,400 crore. The company has selected 2,500 acres of land at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex near Duburi in Jajpur district of Orissa.

Other major steel projects proposed in Orissa are those by Posco of Korea (10 million tpa) and Vedanta Resources (5 million tpa). MoUs for these projects are scheduled to be signed in the near future.