Steel tycoon and Arcelor-Mittal chief L N Mittal announced on Thursday that his company's proposed 12-million tonne steel project in Orissa would gather steam once the detailed project report was finalised and the issues regarding land, water and mining were settled.

"The Orissa project will be completed very fast, faster than the Jharkhand venture," he said after a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here today. "It will take off fast. However, a lot more have to be done on the land and water issues," he added

Arcelor-Mittal proposed two plants in Orissa and Jharkhand of 12-million tonne capacity each. These are the first greenfield projects anywhere by Mittal, who has built up his steel capacity, the largest in the world, mostly through the acquisition route.

Mittal said the detailed project report of the Orissa plant, being prepared by Dastur & Co, would be completed next year.

On his meeting with Patnaik, he said, "We discussed all the issues relating to land, water and mining. The chief minister is very keen on the project and I am very confident of getting the mining rights."

Describing the progress on the project since signing the MoU in December, 2006 as satisfactory, he said, "The chief minister has expressed strong support for the project."

On the possibility of facing problems of land acquisition because of displacement issues, like those faced by Posco in the state, Mittal said, "These issues can be resolved by talking to the community."

Mittal was accompanied by his son and CFO of the company Aditya Mittal and India operation head of Arcelor-Mittal, Sanak Mishra. Apart from the chief minister, all senior officials of the state government were present at the meeting.

The company has proposed to build its plant in Patna tehsil in Keonjhar district. The project requires 8,000 acres of land, which includes 6,000 acres for the plant, 1,000 acres each for the captive power plant of 750 mw capacity and the township.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion), which is the second-largest FDI proposal after Posco's Rs 51,000 investment project.