ArcelorMittal said that it expects to start work on its India projects worth INR 100,000 crore later this year.
Mr Aditya Mittal CFO of ArcelorMittal said that "On India, I believe, we are making good progress on the Greenfield projects and hope to break ground later this year.”
Asked if the company is looking at mergers and acquisitions to expand its India base, he said that "We have a joint venture with Uttam Galva. We are sensing whether we should have any other partnership in India. But at this point of time there is nothing off the ground."
It is, however, understood that the company has approached firms like the Steel Authority of India Ltd, Bhushan Power and Steel for a possible partnership due to the inordinate delays in launching its projects worth INR 100,000 crore for the past five years.
ArcelorMittal had proposed to set up a 12 million tonne per annum new steel plant, one each in Jharkhand and Orissa. But the proposed ventures are facing delays mainly on account of problems in land acquisition and regulatory hurdles.
Faced with tribal protests in Khunti and Gumla districts in Jharkhand, ArcelorMittal is now looking at Petarwar in Bokaro district as the new site for the plant.
