Keonjhar, Nov 1: JSW Group and South Korean steel giant POSCO have announced plans to establish a major steel plant in Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The integrated steel plant will have a production capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
During a visit to Keonjhar, Chief Minister Majhi today revealed that he discussed the project with JSW and POSCO during recent roadshow events in Delhi and Mumbai.
He confirmed that the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the plant in Keonjhar, with preparations already underway.
"Now, JSW and POSCO have concluded a MoU and mentioned that the plant would come up in Keonjhar. The process is on..", Majhi said while responding to questions on proposed steel plant in Keonjhar district.
The MoU follows initial discussions between the companies and a high-level delegation led by the Chief Minister during an investors' meeting in Mumbai. Two potential sites for the project have been identified: one spanning approximately 2,500 acres near Odisha Tea Plantation Ltd in the Taramakant area of Banspal block, and another covering 1,956 acres at Patna, previously offered to ArcelorMittal.
If the project proceeds, it will mark POSCO’s second attempt to invest in Odisha, nearly twenty years after its initial effort to establish a 12 MTPA plant in the state was abandoned due to land acquisition challenges. Additionally, this would be POSCO's second joint venture in India within the last two years, following a $5 billion agreement with the Adani Group for an integrated steel mill in Mundra, Gujarat, in 2022.
