Tata Steel envisions launching its proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project named ‘Tata Steel SEZ Ltd’ in Ganjam district of Odisha as an investment destination from December this year.
The registration process of lease deed of land earmarked for this SEZ near Gopalpur port started on Friday in the sub-registrar office in Chatrapur. According to Tata Steel sources, 1235 acres of land earmarked for the project would be registered in company’s name in the first phase.
“With the registration of land in favour of company, we hope to get the SEZ notification for Gopalpur from the Government of India in November. By early December, we would launch this SEZ project as an investment destination,” said Arun Mishra, Vice-President of Project Gopalpur and Managing Director of Tata Steel SEZ Limited. According to him talks are already on with investors in China and south-east Asia, who have shown interest in the SEZ project.
Industrial Development Corporation (IDCO) of Odisha in the past had acquired 2970 acres of land near Gopalpur port in Ganjam district for a mega steel plant project of Tata Steel. Later steel plant project had been shelved and the company had decided to have a SEZ on the land. After registration of 1235 acres of land in first phase, rest land with IDCO would be registered in the name of Tata Steel in phased manner.
Meanwhile, work is on for a ferrochrome plant of Tata Steel that would come up on around 400 acres of this proposed SEZ land as anchorage industry is in last stages. Construction work of this 55,000 Tons per Annum (TPA) ferrochrome plant being set up at a cost of 800 crore rupees is expected to end by December 2015. Trial run of the unit will occur in January 2016 to March 2016. Commercial production from this new project is scheduled to start in April 2016. This proposed SEZ of Tata Steel is expected to facilitate industrial development of the region along with increasing employment opportunity.
