A Russian company has shown keen interest in setting up an exclusive special economic zone (SEZ) in Odisha for producing titanium.
It has already forwarded a proposal in this regard to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Commerce and Industry Ministry for consideration.
The proposal by the Russian company, Technokhim, revolves around setting up an Integrated Chemical and Metallurgical Complex (ICMC) at the core and other SEZ industries around it. The project entails an investment of around $2.1 billion, and is likely to be located at Chhatrapur, Odisha. “During my visit to Russia recently, I conveyed to the Minister of Economic Development, Andrey Belousov, and Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis V. Manturov, the willingness of the Indian government to consider the application for SEZ. We will provide all support for its implementation. If we can take this project forward, it will be an important investment in high technology sector,’’ Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told this correspondent.
The Ministry of External Affairs had forwarded the SEZ proposal to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The project would use advanced Russian technologies to produce various titanium products.
“The project will be supported subject to adherence to the SEZ policy which has witnessed some changes in the recent foreign trade policy (FTP). The Government of Odisha, I am told, is also keen on the project,” he added.
Mr. Sharma said the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and State Bank of India (SBI)have come together to launch a joint investment fund which would act as a vehicle for enhancing mutual investments, which, so far, had been transaction or deal-based. “The pooling in of the expertise and resources shall make the process more methodical and render it easy for our investors,” he added. The size of the present fund is up to $2 billion and SBI and RDIF will contribute $25 million each. It is proposed to mobilise resources from public sector companies having interest in Russia.
RDIF is a $10 billion fund established by the Russian Government to make equity investments primarily in Russian economy. In all of its investments, the fund is mandated to co-invest alongside some of the largest and most sophisticated investors globally, thus acting as a catalyst for direct investment in Russia.
