Tata Steel is in discussion with foreign companies for investments up to Rs 20,000 crore in heavy industries over the next five years at its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project at Gopalpur in Odisha.
"We believe we should be able to get foreign investment between Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore over the next five years at the Gopalpur SEZ," Tata Steel SEZ managing director Arun Misra told PTI last night.
"We are in discussions with 13 to 14 different investors. Talks are at various levels," he said at the Emerging India Forum 2016 in Singapore.
The investment will be in defence, metal downstream and electronics as well as chemicals and pharmaceuticals, Misra, who is marketing the Gopalpur SEZ as a gateway to the South East Asian markets, said.
Tata Steel is the anchor tenant for the multi-product 2,970-acre SEZ at Gopalpur in Odisha. The UK-based Midget Corporations is setting up an assembly plant for "unmanned aerial vehicle targets" which are used by army for firing practice.
Singapore consultant Subrana Jurong has completed the SEZ's masterplan with all land cleared for leasing within the 30-square-km boundary.
"All master-planning has been done, the entire area has been cleared, there is no encumbrance," Misra said.
Basic utilities and road infrastructure has already been built in early development of the zone which has Tata Steel's ferrochrome plant.
The Gopalpur SEZ, just off the National Highway 5, will be based on a Singapore model for industrial development which offers land parcels of various sizes for industries, he said.
Tata Steel SEZ will invest between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore by 2020 in the Gopalpur SEZ, for which a Tata Power plant proposal is also on the drawing board.
The company is also discussing a possible investment in expansion of Gopalpur port, about 5 km away from the zone.
"We want to show that if you plan well and provide infrastructure, SEZ can be successful," Misra said.
Good days ahead
The steel industry is likely to see good days ahead as the "worst is behind us", Tata Steel India managing director T.V. Narendran has said.
"The worst is behind us," Narendran recently said on the sidelines of a conference in Calcutta.
Referring to steel prices, Narendran said he did not wish to predict their range for the next few months, but said the domestic steel price was still lower than the minimum import price (MIP) imposed by the government in February.
In the recent past, domestic price was up by Rs 3,000 and international steel prices had also moved up by 15 per cent, he said.
Rural focus in the budget and the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations will fuel domestic demand, he said.
Narendran said domestic steel makers were following the developments in China.
Speaking about Tata Steel Kalinganagar, he said the company was focussing on stabilising the first phase of three million tonnes capacity. Depending on cash flows and current demand, plan for additional three million tonnes in the second phase will be carried out.
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