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Jindal Steel to invest $1.36 billion in Chhattisgarh

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd plans to invest Rs 64 billion in Chhattisgarh for a power project and several metal projects over the next seven years, a company official said on Tuesday.

JSPL, which already operates two steel plants in Chhattisgarh, has signed a pact with the state to set up a 1,000-megawatt thermal power plant in two equal phases at Raigarh at a cost of about Rs 45 billion, the official said.

The engineering and construction contracts for the power plants have been placed with Swiss/Swedish multinational Asea Brown Boveri, while Larsen and Toubro will construct a dam on river Kurket to supply water to the plant.

The power plant is expected to be commissioned by 2005.

JSPL will invest another Rs 19 billion in nine other metal and related projects including a Rs 4.5-billion 750,000-tonne rail and universal beam mill and a Rs 4-billion 50,000-tonne aluminium plant.

It also plans to set up a 750,000-tonne steel melting shop at a cost of Rs 1.5 billion and a 60,000 tonne ferrochrome plant at a cost of Rs 500 million.

The company, owned by the Delhi-based O P Jindal family that has a large presence in steel-making, has plants at Raipur and Raigarh in Chhattisgarh.

Its shares were down 0.5 per cent at Rs 249.50 in morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the Sensex was up 0.47 per cent at 3,657.25 points at the time.

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