Tata steel revives mega project

Tata Steel on Thursday revived its mega Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) project to produce titanium dioxide from ilmenite mined from beach sands of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts in south Tamil Nadu.

A fresh Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Tata Steel managing director B Muthuraman and Tamil Nadu industries secretary Shakthikanda Das in the presence of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata at the Secretariat in Chennai.

The original MoU was signed in 2002 during the previous AIADMK Government but the project did not take off in the last five years. Talking to reporters shortly after signing the MoU, Ratan Tata said "it is a significant project for Tata in Tamil Nadu. The project will create considerable employment opportunities."

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."