___________

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ratan Jindal owned JSL Ltd (formerly Jindal Stainless Ltd) for setting up of a 1320 Mw super critical plant with Independent Power Producer (IPP) status at Luni in Dhenkanal district.

The project envisages an investment of Rs 7375 crore and it is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for 2600 persons.

The company has sought allotment of 2000 acres of land through the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco).

… This would be the second major project of the company in the state. The company is currently setting up a 1.6 million tonne integrated stainless steel plant at Kalinganagar. With this, the total projected power generation from the projects for which the state government has singed MoUs has increased to 32,420 Mw.

…Energy minister, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said, the government expects the IPPs to be able to generate 2400 Mw by the end of this year and 6450 Mw by the end of 2012-13.

Ratan Jindal, vice-chairman and the managing director, JSL Ltd said, the group is producing about 4000 Mw power at present. This is likely to increase to 12000 Mw by 2012-13, which would put the company among the major power producers in the country.

Referring to the 1.6 million tonne per annum integrated stainless steel project being set up at Kalinganagar, he said, the first phase of 0.8 million tonne would be commissioned by the end of this year. Chief secretary Tarunkanti Mishra and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

One concern I have is the land requirement of these power plants. They should reduce this as much as possible. In this regard some pointers are:

• A 2006 NEERI report.

Following is an excerpt from a PTI report.

the state-run power major NTPC is set to pump in over Rs 55,000 crore for additional capacity generation of 9,320mw by setting up two new plants and expanding the existing Talcher plant.

"Over Rs 55,000 crore will be invested in Orissa for new projects at Dadripali in Sundargarh district and Gajmara in the Dhenkanal-Angul belt and to expand the Talcher plant," NTPC regional executive director for East & North IB Pandey told reporters here today.

While the Dadripali plant, to be built in three phases, would have a capacity of 4,800mw with six units, the 3,200mw Gajmara plant would be set up in two stages, he said, adding land for them are likely to be available in about six months.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… According to the draft bill, a mining company has to “allot free shares equal to twenty six per cent in the company… in case the holder of the lease (the land being taken over) is a company”. If the holder of the lease is a person, “an annuity equal to 26% of the profit after tax” has to be given as “annual compensation”.

The draft Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 2010, also proposes that the mining company has to provide employment and/or other assistance in accordance with the rehabilitation and resettlement policy of the state government concerned.

Government sources said they hoped the draft bill would address these issues through the “partnership” plan. “Their (tribals’) home is being taken away so how will they feel. The point is being driven home,” said an official with the mines ministry.

… The sources said the bill could come up before the cabinet for clearance in a few weeks.

The bill envisages the involvement of gram sabhas or district councils or panchayats — as the case may be — who would identify the families to be affected by mining projects, directly or indirectly, before the commencement of operations to “ensure appropriate benefits”.

“A mining welfare fund will be set up, funds from which will be only for tribal land,” sources in the government said. The plan is to create “model villages”, added an official.

The bill also proposes a mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility document to be attached to the mining plan. The document envisages a scheme for annual expenditure by the mining company on socio-economic activities in and around the mine area to facilitate self-employment opportunities.

P. Chidambaram’s home ministry, too, has come up with a plan to assuage tribal sentiments. It has proposed free power for villages within a certain radius of power plants. “People should not feel that the power generated from their land is benefiting only the rich in cities,” said a home ministry official.

…  Home ministry officials said the focus was now on “micro-management” to understand the problems of tribals. On April 30, MPs from 34 districts most affected by Maoist violence will be briefed by home ministry officials. “We can put things right in the bureaucracy, but it is the duty of MPs to go and talk to affected people,” said a source.

On policing, the ministry wants to deploy police personnel “sympathetic” to tribals.  …

1. Economic Times on 3 more terminal markets in Odisha:

Orissa government will provide four terminal market yards to enable the farmers to sell their produce at market prices…. One of the terminal has already been constructed at Sambalpur with an investment

of Rs 86 crore and three others are coming up at Cuttack, Berhampur and Rourkela,…

2. Business Standrad on MOU with five IPPs for 4800 MW power:

The cumulative capacity of these projects would be 4800 Mw and the total investment is envisaged to be Rs 23203.52 crore.

With this, the total power generation projected in the state would increase to 31100 Mw from 26300 Mw earlier.The Orissa government has already inked MoUs with 21 IPPs with an aggregate generation capacity of 26,300 Mw earlier.

… Five companies who signed the MoU included BGR Energy System, JR Powergen Private Ltd, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd, Maa Durga Thermal Power Company Ltd and Vijaya Ferro and Power Private Ltd.

JR Powergen Private Ltd would set up a 1980 Mw thermal power plant at Kishorenagar near Angul at an investment of Rs 7988 crore. BGR Energy Systems Ltd also plans to set up a 1320 Mw power plant at Bhapur in Nayagarh district at an investment of Rs 6287 crore.

Similarly, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd would set up a 1320 Mw power plant at Birmaharajpur in Sonepur district entailing an investment of Rs 8079.74 crore. All these proposals were cleared by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

On the other hand, Maa Durga Thermal Power would set up a 60 Mw ((2x30Mw) power plant at Tangi in Cuttack district, involving an investment of Rs 296.95 crore. Besides, Vijaya Ferro and Power Private Ltd, planning to set up a 120 Mw power plant (IPP) at an investment of Rs 550 crore at Kesinga (Turla Khamar) in Kalahandi district.

The total land requirement for these projects have been assessed at 4360 acres and about 22,325 direct and indirect employment opportunities are expected to be created when these projects would be fully commissioned. Three projects namely BGR Energy System, JR Powergen Private Ltd, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd would source water from the Mahanadi river system, Maa Durga Thermal Power would draw water from Birupa river.Vijaya Ferro and Power plans to source water from Tel river.

3. Hindu on preliminary bids for UMPP at Bedabahal:

the government was likely to invite preliminary bids for the 4,000-MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Bedabahal in Orissa by April 30.

The request for qualification (RSQ) for the project may be issued by April 30.

This Bedabahal project would be the sixth UMPP project. The government has already awarded four UMPPs, of which three — Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand — have been bagged by Reliance Power.

4. Sify on 595 crores for waterbody upgrade:

As many as 1817 water bodies, mostly the minor irrigation projects (MIPs) in 20 districts of Orissa, would be revitalized under the Centrally sponsored scheme of Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies.

These water bodies would be revitalized within a period of three years at an estimated cost of Rs 595.14 crore.

The funding for these projects would be shared between the Government of India and the Orissa government in the ratio of 90:10 for the Maoist infested, drought prone and backward districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK).

For the other districts, the share between the Centre and the state government will be 25 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.

While the design ayacut of all 1817 projects was 2, 48,545.86 hectares, the irrigation potential of an additional 89,110.02 hectares of land would be revived through these projects, sources said.

Most of these projects under the RRR scheme are being taken up in south Orissa’s Ganjam district. About 800 projects under the scheme are to be taken up in the district at a cost of Rs 250.87 crore.

… Apart from Ganjam and KBK, the other districts where the scheme will be implemented are Bargarh, Bolangir, Gajapati, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Mayurbhanaj, Nabarangapur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Balasore, Malkanagiri, Subarnapur, Deogarh and Dhenkanal.

The pilot project for this scheme was implemented for 137 projects in Ganjam and Gajapati districts at a cost of Rs 18.84 crore during 2005-06 to 2008-09.

5. Hindu on Japan giving 150 crores for an irrigation project:

Japan will also give … over Rs 150 crore for Rengali irrigation project in Orissa.

6. Hospitalitbizindia on a mega food park at Malipada, Khurda:

Government of India is likely to set up a mega food park and a marine food park at Malipara near Khurda in Orissa with an area of 282 acres. This information was given by Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Food Processing while responding to a demand raised by Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa at the Orissa Investors meet 2010.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

… "The state has received an investment proposal of Rs.101,100 crore (Rs.1 trillion/$22 billion) from Jindal Steel and Power. About $10 billion has been proposed for the new coal-to-liquid project," a senior official of the state steel and mines department said.

The project includes the coal-to-liquid plant, the thermal plant and a coal washery.

A coal block has already been allocated to the company in Angul district, over 160 km from here, by the central government. And the steel producer and power utility is now looking for about 2,000 hectares of land for the project, Naveen Jindal said.

"About three sites were being explored and the company prefers a location near the coal block," a senior company official said.

Also, Jindal is building a 12.5 million tonne steel plant, a 1,320 MW capacity power plant and an industrial complex in the same district. The company requires about 4,500 acres land for the steel and the power plant. "About 4,000 acres has already been acquired," the official said.

"The work on the steel and the power plant is going on and we hope to commission one part of the power plant and the steel plant by the end of this year," he said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Amtek Metal & Mining Ltd (AMML), for setting up a mega auto park with an associated two million tonne per annum (mtpa) integrated steel plant and 500 Mw power plant at Tangi in Cuttack district.

The project envisaging an investment of Rs 15,820 crore, is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for 33,000 persons. Out of the total projected investment, Rs 2050 crore is proposed to be invested for mega auto park in phases.

While the total land requirement for the projects is estimated at 2500 acres, about 550 acres will be required for the mega auto park. … AMML’s project consists of ferrous foundry, steel forging plants, steel fabrication plant, open die forging plant, special fastener, aluminium die casting plant, alloy steel plant and ring gear blank plant among others. It would transfer the hot metal from blast furnace to auto park for production of auto components.

… “With the signing of the MoU, we expect greater interest from the national auto industry which will help create an auto hub in the state”, Patnaik remarked. Taori said, the company would adopt ITIs and the polytechnics in the state to impart skill training to the unemployed youth in Orissa.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard by Nageshwar Patnaik.

… All these projects will create employment opportunity for nearly six thousand people

The investment proposal includes setting up of five new thermal power projects and expansion of two existing power plants.

.. The new power projects cleared by the committee include 3200 MW plant National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) at Dharanipali in Sundergarh district (Rs 18,000 crore), 2000 MW plant by Orissa Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) at Rengali (Rs 8,250 crore), 1320 MW plant by BGR at Bhapur in Nayagarh district (Rs 6,300 crore), 1980 MW plant by JR Power Gen Private Limited at Bainda in Angul district (Rs 8,000 crore) and 1320 MW plant by Adhunik Power Company Limited at Birmaharjpur in Sonepur district (Rs 8000 crore)

The existing projects which were given permission to go for expansion are Chambal Infrastructure Limited (from 1200 MW to 1320 MW and GMR Limited (1050 MW to 1400 MW).

Chambal Infrastructure Limited – which has its plants at Siria in Dhenkanal district will invest Rs 5000 crore while GMR Limited will put in Rs 6000 crore at its Kamalanga plant in the same district.

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

Odisha’s Power sector gets a relief as the first Unit of 2400 Independent Power Plant (IPP) at Jharsuguda would be commissioned in coming Summer’, he said to the media after meeting the Chief Minister.

This will add 600 MW to the state’s power production capacity and can help the State Government in facing the current power crisis. 

Mr. Agarwal revealed that construction work of world class Vedanta University near Puri has already started. 

At the first stage, the University will have a 1000 bed super specialty hospital and Medical College, also academic building. 

Vedanta Boss also informed the meeting that Lanjigarh refinery is fully operational by sourcing bauxite from other states, incurring a huge opportunity loss for both states as well as company. 

State Government has assured to look into the issue seriously and try to work out for an immediate solution. 

Construction activities for a specialized burn and trauma care centre at Bhubaneswar would begin very soon.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

After committing an investment of Rs 60,000 crore on various projects in Orissa including an aluminium smelter plant, an alumina refinery unit and a mega university project, London-based Vedanta Resources Plc has now evinced interest in setting up a steel plant in the state.

Vedanta plans to set up the steel plant in collaboration with engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T).

… However, he did not provide details like capacity of the proposed steel plant, location and investment. It may be noted that in October 2004, Sterlite Iron and Steel Company, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, had inked an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the state government for setting up a five million tonne per annum steel plant. The steel plant was to set up at Palasponga in the state’s Keonjhar district at an investment of Rs 12,502 crore. However, the project is yet to take off.

On bauxite supplies, Agarwal said, he has informed the state chief minister that Vedanta’s alumina refinery plant at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district is operational and the company is sourcing bauxite from other states to run this refinery.

The chief minister has assured that us that bauxite supplies would not be a problem in Orissa which has the fourth largest deposits of the mineral ore in the country, Agarwal informed.

He further said the company is adhering to the environmental norms in running the Lanjigarh refinery, adding, “Our refinery at Lanjigarh is a world class refinery and it is a zero discharge and zero waste unit. …"

He pointed out that the company would commence mining operations at Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district after getting the environmental clearance.

Agarwal said, Vedanta has already invested Rs 39,000 crore on various projects in Orissa and these projects have generated direct and indirect employment for about two lakh people.

Vedanta Aluminium has also decided to set aside five per cent of its net profit or Rs 10 crore every year on welfare activities of the tribals of Lanjigarh. The amount will be spent on meeting the needs of the tribals in areas like education, livelihood and health.

The company will also build the hostel for the proposed engineering college of the state government at Bhawanipatna.

On the 2400 MW (6×400) power plant at Jharsuguda, Agarwal said, the first unit of the independent power project (600 MW) will be operational from the ensuing summer.

Talking on the company’s proposed university project, he said, “We have huge local support for our university project and at first we will set up a 1000 bed state-of-the-art hospital as a part of the project.” Apart from the 1000 bed hospital, Vedanta has also firmed up plans to set up a 100-bed burn and trauma care centre at Gangapada on the outskirts of the city. Construction work on this centre wold take off very soon, Agarwal stated.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.

The Orissa government is proposing to develop a special corridor for coal transportation from the state’s coal-bearing district Angul. The 137 km long corridor, which would be developed with an investment of Rs 5000 crore, will connect coal deposits in Talcher, Angul, Meramundali, and Chendipada.

A state government official in the commerce and transport department said the corridor will be developed with rail and road networks with a view to facilitate coal supply to various industries and also transportation to ports for exports and coastal shipments.

Orissa has proven coal deposits of 6,53,53 mt. The Mahanadi Coalfield Ltd. (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India (CIL), is currently raising about 70 to 90 mt per annum. However, as many private and public sector companies are expected to make their allotted coal block operational, coal traffic from the Angul district is expected to increase manifold.

The state has lined up power plants by 21 IPPs (independent power producers) of a total capacity of 25,000 MW. Besides, a power plant of 4000 MW is coming up under the Ultra Mega Power Project(UMPP) scheme and another 4000 MW is being installed by NTPC. In brown field expansion, the AES-owned Orissa Power Generation Corporation and NTPC are adding 1,320 MW each to their facilities at Ib Valley and Talcher respectively. To add to it, several captive generating plants are being set up by aluminium, steel and ferro-alloys plants in the state. To feed these power plants, at least 142 mt of coal will need to be transported from the pit head to power stations every year. 

Update: Following are some additional details from a report in Pioneer.

• Amtech Auto Engineering would set up the complex at an investment of Rs 15,820 crore near Tangi- Choudwar. It would set up a two million tonne steel plant and 500 MW captive power plant in the complex. With this about 33,000 people will get both direct and indirect employment.

  It may be mentioned here that Jamsedpur-based RSB Trasmissions (I) Ltd, one of India’s leading auto components manufacturers, is coming up with an auto complex at Mania in Cuttack. RSB Transmission will invest Rs 430 crore in the project.

• The committee also approved JK Cement‘s one million tonne capacity plant on the road between Athagrah and Choudwar.
• BOC would set up an air separation plant at an investment of Rs 434 crore in Rourkela. It would produce oxygen, nitrogen and argons.
• Bijaya Ferro Power Private Limited would set up a power plant at Keshinga in Kalahandi with an investment of Rs 550 crore. It would take water from Tel river to produce 120 MW power.
• Ind-Bharat’s proposal to enhance its power production capacity has also got the nod of the committee. It would set up its plant at Jharsuguda with an investment of Rs 3,300 crore.
• Facor would set up its captive power plant at Rahandia near Bhadrak.
• Due to shortage of water, few plants have also changed their sites. Odisha Cement Power Plant (OCL) has shifted its plant site from Mania to Rajgangpur.
• Jinadal Stainless Steel would set up its plant in Luni instead of Gajatara in Dhenkanal.
• Kalinga Energy Power Limited would set up its plant at Jharsuguda instead of Sambalpur.
• Scwal Brewage would set up its plant at Baranga instead of Choudwar at a cost of Rs 193 crore.
• The Rs 1,320 crore Sahara Power project has shifted its plant to Ghantabahal from Turul.
• German-based Gaunteman Pipery would set up its plant beneficiation plant and pelatisation plant. The beneficiation plant would come up at Barbil and the pelatisation plant at Dhamra. Around 1,605 crore would be invested in the project.
• Aditya Alumina’s proposal to enhance its production from one million tonne to 1.5 million tonne. It would also enhance its power plant from 650 MW to 900 MW.

Following is an excerpt from Orissadiary.

The projects of Adhunic Metalics and Jindal Stainless Steel at Sundargarh and Kalinganagar, respectively have been approved. The SWCLC has also given its green signal for an air-separation plant. Projects, involving Vijay Ferrochorme and Power Pvt Ltd and Adhunic Power plant have been cleared.

Amtech Metals would establish the integrated auto-complex, first of its kind in the state. Moreover, an auto-park, steel and power plant would also be established in the complex. The cost of the entire project has been pegged at Rs 15,820 crore. All the projects are expected to provide direct and indirect employment opportunities to nearly 47,000 and 1.5 lakh people, respectively apart from bolstering the socio-economic conditions in those regions where the proposed projects would come up, state Industries Secretary, Sourabh Garg said.

Tathya has some details on the Adhunik group’s project. Following are some excerpts:

Adhunik Power & Natural Resources Limited (APNRL) has proposed to invest Rs.3883.40 crore for the 4×250 MW power plant in Birmaharajpur in Sonepur district.

… Adhunik Metaliks Limited (AML), another member of the Group has proposed to set up Down Stream Park for stainless and special products with an investment of Rs.286 crore.  … downstream industries in hot-rolling, cold-rolling utensils, kitchen and hardware.  AML has also proposed for stainless steel pipes and alloys, which received the nod.
The park will be set up at Kumarmunda in a 300 acre area in Sundargarh district.

AML is setting up steel plant at Kumarmunda with a capacity of 0.41 million ton per annum (MTPA).

Tathya has also some details on the JSL project. Following are some excerpts.

JSL Limited posed a proposal to set up a Super Critical Thermal Power Station of 1320 (660X2) megawatt capacity, which has been cleared in the meeting. The Rs.4090 crore Greenfield project will be set up at Luni in Dhenkanal district.

Most importantly JSL, which is setting up a 3.20 million ton per annum (MTPA) capacity stainless steel plant at Kalinga Nagar has proposed to set up Stainless Steel Park (SEZ) with an investment of Rs.740 crore.  … The park will promote auto components, kitchen & life style, light engineering, white goods, cold rolling, pipes and tubes, and service centre. 300 acres of land for the park is needed for the park, which will have man power requirement of more than 2000, said sources. JSL plant is likely to produce stainless steel by end of 2010 and the park is also to be completed by the same time reveal the SLSWCA Report.

The above two downstream park proposals are most likely due to the recent government focus on those aspects, before giving mining leases. The govt. needs to make sure that the down stream parks indeed materialize as proposed.

Following is an excerpt from a report in rttnews.

 National Aluminium Company or Nalco, the state-run aluminium producer, will invest about Rs.22,000 crore to set up two mega projects, one in Andhra Pradesh and the other in Orissa.

Minister for Mines B.K. Handique told the Lok Sabha Tuesday that the navratna firm would set up a 5-lakh ton aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda, Orissa, along with a 1,260 MW captive power plant at an estimated investment of Rs 16,345 crore.

… it has set apart Rs.2 crore each for pre-project activities in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The first phase of the Naveen Jindal-promoted Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL)’s proposed 6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) steel project and 1000 Mw power plant at Angul in Orissa is expected to be commissioned in 2011-12.

The shifting of families to be displaced by the project was going on and simultaneously, the construction of the boundary wall had started. The detailed engineering would follow the completion of the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) of displaced persons and large scale construction would be taken up after that.

“We plan to start large scale construction work in January next year and the first phase commissioning is scheduled to be in 2011-12”, Rajesh Kumar Jha, executive director, JSPL told Business Standard.

He said, out of three villages to be shifted completely for the first phase construction, two villages had been rehabilitated completely. The remaining village would be rehabilitated by December this year. The company’s strategy of combining the project economy with the rehabilitated family’s economy has gone down well with the people. …

… the company had placed orders for civil and structural works worth Rs 1584.57 crore which was 60 percent of the estimated costs. Similarly, orders for plant and equipment worth Rs 4,034.34 crore had been placed which was about 35 per cent of the total estimated costs of plant and equipments.

The total cost of the project is Rs 22,420 crore with the first phase investment pegged at Rs 13,000 crore. The project has already attained financial closure and will have a 60:40 debt-equity ratio. While the debt component will be Rs 8,958 crore, the equity is Rs 13,452 crore.

…  While the company requires 5,279 acres for the steel plant, about 3000 acres have been acquired so far. The acquisition of additional 707 acres of private land is likely to be over by the end of this month.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

… Projects awaiting the chief minister’s nod include those proposed by National Thermal Power Corporation (Rs18,000 crore), L&T-Dubal (Rs 19,668 crore) and Lanco Babanh Power (Rs 11,402 crore) among others.

… The SLSWCA in its meeting held in March 2007 cleared the Rs 4232.54 crore investment proposal of Ashapura Minechem Ltd for setting up of a 0.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) alumina refinery and 0.15 mtpa smelter with 300 Mw captive power plant (CPP) in Koraput district.

Similarly, NTPC proposal to set up a 3200 Mw thermal power project at Darlipali in Sundergarh district was approved by the SLSWCA in February 2008.

The fate of L&T’s proposal to set up an alumina-aluminium complex at Kusumsila near Rayagada and Vadrapali near Sambalpur in joint venture with Dubal is still uncertain.

Sources said, the HLCA is yet to consider the Rs 8,250 crore investment proposal of Orissa Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (OTPCL) to set up a 2000 Mw coal based power plant at Rengali. It is also yet to take up the Lanco Babandh Power’s application to enhance the MoU capacity from 1320Mw to 2640 Mw at Kurunti and Kharagprasad in Dhenkanal district.

The Rs 3101.86 crore proposal of Tata Sponge Iron to set up a 1.5 mtpa steel making capacity at Beliapada near Joda, recommended by the SLSWCA in May this year, is also pending for approval by the chief ministers.

… Though VAL had proposed to expand the capacity of its existing refinery at Lanjigarh from 1 mtpa to 6 mtpa, smelter plant capacity from 0.25 mtpa to 1.6 mtpa and the captive power plant (CPP) capacity from 674 Mw to 1350 Mw with a combined investment of Rs 37,440 crore, it was cleared in part by the SLSWCA.

The SLSWCA meeting held in May this year had recommended for a smelter capacity of 0.5 mtpa as the company had already achieved this level while approving the capacity expansion of the CPP to 1350 Mw without any increase in the refinery capacity.

Similarly, Hindalco Industries Ltd (Aditya Aluminium) had proposed to expand its alumina refinery capacity to 1.5 mtpa from 1 mtpa and expansion of its smelting capacity to 0.72 mtpa from 0.26 mtpa along with an increase in the CPP capacity to 1650 Mw from 650 Mw.

SLSWCA has only recommended a marginal increase in the smelting capacity from 0.26 mtpa to 0.36 mtpa and CPP capacity from 650 Mw to 950 Mw to the HLCA. Partial approval of these proposals was officially attributed to the non-availability of bauxite linkage and pending the final report of the environmental carrying capacity study taken up by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board.

That apart, the SLSWCA in its meeting on 26 August 2009 also recommended two projects of Rs 14,275 crore to HLCA. The Rs 7988 crore proposal of JR Powergen Private Ltd to set up a 1980 Mw power plant at Kishorenagar near Angul and BRG Energy Systems’s proposal to set up a 1320 Mw power plant at an investment of Rs 6287 crore at Bhapur in Nayagarh district are yet to be approved by HLCA.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa cabinet today approved a proposal of the Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), a joint venture between the Orissa government and the AES, to adopt super critical technology with a configuration of 2X260 Mw and sharing of power for the proposed expansion of unit 3 and unit 4 of the Ib Thermal Power Station of OPGC.

The cabinet chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik also allowed OPGC a time gap of 6 months between the commissioning of the 3rd and 4th units.

However, in case of delay in commissioning of the 4th unit beyond 6 months, OPGC would have to give 450 Mw from the 3rd unit against the approved 420 Mw.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.

The proposed port town of Dhamra in Bhadrak district and the coastal village of Astaranga in Orissa are going to get two ultra mega power projects (UMPPs). The Centre, which has awarded two more UMPPs to the state besides the one at Sundergarh, is zeroing in on these two sites for the proposed projects.

A high-level team of experts and officials from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) identified the two sites after examining five possible sites located near the coast in the state. The five sites are Kirtaniya (on the mouth of the Subernarekha river) in Balasore district, Dhamra in Bhadrak, Paradip in Jagatsinghpur, Astaranga in Puri and Ganja in Ganjam district.

…  The CVR Navayuga Group has signed an MoU with the Orissa government to set up a 60 million tonne cargo handling capacity port at Astaranga with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore in three phases. The Hyderabad based company is also proposing to set up a 2×660 mw coal-fired thermal power plant and a 12 million tonne steel plant near the port.  

A state government official said DPCL and the Navayuga Group has no objection to the UMPPs coming up near their ports. The two UMPPs with 4000 mw capacity each will be developed through special purpose vehicles promoted by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) with a proposed investment of Rs 32,000 crore.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The state-level single-window clearance committee, headed by the chief secretary, today cleared proposals to set up industrial projects drawing a total investment of Rs 2,037 crore.

With the decision, decks have been cleared for signing MoUs by promoters concerned with the state government, sources said.

The committee also forwarded two more proposals for setting up of two thermal power plants to generate 3,300MW with a total investment of Rs 14,275 crore to the high-level clearance authority, headed by the chief minister.

…  While JR Power Gen has proposed to set up a 1,980MW thermal power plant at an estimated cost of Rs 7,988 crore at Kishore Nagar near Angul, BGR Energy has submitted proposals for establishment of a 1,320MW power plant with an investment of Rs 6,287 crore in Nayagarh district.

… the committee gave its final nod to Hindalco’s proposal for setting up an aluminium re-rolling plant with a capacity of 2.85 lakh tonnes at Hirakud in Sambalpur district with an investment of Rs 850 crore.

The proposal of Rashmi Cement Limited to establish a 2 lakh tonnes ferro manganese plant at Haridaspur in Jajpur district with an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore and Dhananjay Industries’s 40,000-tonnes ferro alloy plant at Choudwar near Cuttack with an investment of Rs 180 crore were also cleared.

The committee also cleared the proposal of Kaushal Ferro Manganese for establishment of a re-rolling mill with a production capacity of 2 lakh tonnes at Padiabahal in Sundergarh district with an investment of Rs 82 crore.

The last proposal, which got the nod, was submitted by Bhubaneswar Power Limited to set up a 135MW power plant at Anantpur near Athgarh in Cuttack district on joint venture with Tata Steel and Jasper at an estimated cost of Rs 625 crore.

Note: There are often many PR related activities by Vedanta and we usually don’t cover them. But this is an exceptional act of good citizenship on the part of Vedanta when the state is going through an extremely difficult time with respect to its power situation. The excerpts below are from an article by journalist Nageswar Patnaik, who is often very critical of industrial houses. Coming from him, this reinforces the genuineness and the importance of this good action by Vedanta and thus needs to be highlighted.

This should be contrasted with the Jindal group, which was reported to have violated the agreement it signed with Orissa government, and siphoned off extra power, until it was stopped by the high court.

Vedanta Group has finally come to the rescue of Orissa which is currently facing an acute power shortage due to scanty rainfall and "almost dried-up" reservoirs and breakdown of certain thermal power units in the state.

The London-based company on Thursday announced to provide 200 MW power daily to the state grid from its own power plants with immediate effect.

Vedanta has managed to get a better price for offloading power to the grid at the rate of Rs 3.60 per unit against the current Rs 3 per unit bought by the state from the CPPs.

In fact, Vedanta had been providing 115 MW of power from its Group Company BALCO in Chattisgarh to Orissa since July 4 by depriving its own smelter.

"Looking at the continuous demand in the state, Vedanta extended its supply with effect from July 9 from Jharsuguda and has managed to provide additional 100 MW of power to the state grid. The total capacity provided by Vedanta will cover up to the tune of one third of overall power shortage in the state," a source in the company said.

This was accomplished in the face of severe challenges, including shortage of coal and non availability of railway "rack," Mr Siddiqi said, assuring, to stand solidly behind the state in all its critical times.

On an average, Orissa’s daily requirement is around 2400 MW, which goes up to 2,800 to 3,000 MW during the peak hours in the evening. The state has a combined installed capacity from hydel projects to the tune of 1,900 MW. But they are generating around 1,000 MW.

Orissa is passing through power crisis forcing the authorities to restrict load restriction on industrial users by 50% among other measures to tackle the situation.

The state is facing shortage of power by 300 MW on an average and 450 to 500 MW at peak time. The delayed monsoon made things worse while the breakdown in the coal fired power plants operating in the state added to the crisis.

The VAL has set up a Greenfield alumina refinery in Orissa’s Kalahandi district with a capacity of 1 million tons per annum. It is also setting up a 0.5 MTPA aluminum smelter, 1215 MW captive power plant at Jharsuguda.

The Group Company Sterlite Energy Limited is also setting up a 2400 MW Independent Power Plants at Jharsuguda.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indopia.

  … "The first phase with 0.8 Mtpa capacity is expected to be commissioned by June-July, 2010. Work for the stainless steel plant is going on in full swing,"JSL Vice President and Managing Director Ratan Jindal told reporters after meeting Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Though there has been some delay in the Rs 6,500 crore project …

Once the first phase is commissioned, work for the next phase would be expedited to achieve the 1.6 Mtpa capacity at the earliest.

… He said 50 per cent of the electricity generated from the captive power plant (cpp) of the company is being provided to the state government.

On the proposed 1,000 mw thermal plant to be set up in Dhenkanal, Jindal said details were being worked out for the project.

Tathya.in has a few statements on the simple style of Billionaire owner Ratan Jindal.

Ratan, in fact, known for his down to earth approach and simple life style.

He like others never moves in his personal jet and does not shows off his wealth, said an industry watcher.

He simply moves in Jetlite or Indigo with a few of his officers.

Ratan Jindal is the one of 4 sons of late O. P. Jindal. His mother is a minister in the Harayana state government and one of the brother Naveen Jindal is an MP. There are many colleges and a university with O. P. Jindal’s name. This includes the:

• O. P. Jindal Global University in Harayana with Jindal Global Law School as its first school
• O. P. Jindal Institute of Technology in Chhatisgarh under the aegis of Jindal Education and Welfare Society

The Orissa government should push Mr. Ratan Jindal for an engineering college and a medical college in Orissa.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) headed by the chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy today cleared five projects worth Rs 2807.7 crore.

…out of the 12 proposals considered by SLSWCA, the proposal of Bhubneswar Power Private Ltd for setting up of a 2X67.5 Mw CPP was deferred. The energy department has been asked to consider the proposal from the policy point of view.

Two major investment proposals by Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) and Hindalco Industries were partially approved in today’s meeting due to non-availability of bauxite and pending the environmental carrying capacity study by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board.

VAL had proposed to expand the capacity of its refinery at Lanjigarh from one million tonne per annum (MTPA) to 6 MTPA and the smelter plant capacity from 0.25 MTPA to 1.6 MTPA. Besides, the capacity of the CPP was proposed to be raised from 674 Mw to 1350 Mw with a combined investment of Rs 37,440 crore.

The company had signed MoU with the Orissa government for the present capacity at an investment of Rs 12,400 crore. However, SLSWCA only recommended for a smelter capacity of 0.5 MTPA as the company had already achieved this level. It also approved the capacity expansion of the CPP to 1350 Mw as sought by the company. The additional smelting capacity will be considered only after ascertaining the availability of bauxite and receipt of the OSPCB study on environment. Similarly, Hindalco Industries Ltd (Aditya Aluminium) had proposed to expand its alumina refinery capacity to 1.5 MTPA from 1 MTPA at present.

Along with this, the company also sought expansion of its smelting capacity to 0.72 MTPA from 0.26 MTPA and increase in the CPP capacity to 1650Mw from 650 Mw.

SLSWCA has decided to recommend a marginal increase in the smelting capacity from 0.26 MTPA to 0.36 MTPA and CPP capacity from 650 Mw to 950 Mw to the HLCA.

It also put conditional approval to the proposal of the Tata Sponge Iron Ltd. to set up a 1.5 MTPA steel making capacity along with a 52 Mw CPP at an investment of Rs 3101 crore. While the existing sponge capacity of the company is 0.39 MTPA, it had sought to expand its capacity by 0.45 MTPA to 0.84 MTPA.

Similarly, the company proposed to set up one MTPA blast furnace and 1.6 MTPA pellet plant in a separate location in Keonjhar district. It will have to increase the steel making capacity first and after that the increase in the sponge making capacity will be allowed.

The other projects which were approved include 4 MTPA iron ore beneficiation plant at an investment of Rs 360.85 crore to be set up by Kolkata based Rashmi Metaliks at Nayagarh in Keonjhar district.

Similarly, the Rs 624.7 crore investment proposal of Rungta mines, Shyam Steel Industries proposal for setting up 2 MTPA iron ore pelletisation plant were cleared by the SLSWCA. Besides, the Toshali Cement’s proposal to expand its capacity to 2100 tonne per day from 600 tonne per day along with 3.96 lakh tonne per annum grinding unit at Choudwar was also approved.

The proposal of Orissa Thermal Power Corporation, a joint venture between Orissa Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) and Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) to set up 2000 MW power plant at Rengali at an investment of Rs 8250 crore also received the nod of the committee.

Jindal India Thermal Power’s proposal to increase the capacity from 1200 Mw to 1800 mw and Lanco Bhawan Power’s proposal to increase its capacity to 2640 Mw from 1230 Mw were approved for recommendation to the HLCA on the basis of strong recommendation of the energy department.

In another significant decision, SLSWCA decided not to allow any more cement plant in the state except Malkangiri district as the state does not have sufficient amount of limestone.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

Bishnu Dash / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar April 17, 2009, 0:59 IST

The Centre plans to set up two new Ultar Mega Power Plants (UMPPs) in Orissa. Those projects are proposed to come up at locations closer to the sea and will have a generating capacity of 4000Mw each.

Though the locations have not been identified, five possible locations have been short listed for the purpose which are Kirtania (Balasore district), Dhamara (Bhadrakh district), Paradeep (Jagatsinghpur district) Astharanga (Puri district) and Ganjam (in Ganjam district).

A team of senior officials from the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) were likely to visit the state to identify the locations soon, sources said.

These units will make use of the sea water for meeting their water requirement and the state will get 50 per cent of the power generated from the two proposed UMPPs. The Centre plans to set up 13 UMPPs in different states. This includes Tamil Nadu (2), Gujarat (2), Andhra Pradesh (2), Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, one each. Orissa was allotted one UMPP earlier at Sundergarh district.

Meanwhile, the exact location of the Sundergarh UMPP with an installed capacity of 4000 Mw is expected to be finalised soon. … Though the state water resources department has given conditional water allotment for the proposed project, the state has asked for creation of additional water reserves in certain sites.

However, the Centre is yet to agree to this proposal. Sources said, the Centre had agreed to bear the expenses for creation of additional reservoir capacity, but wanted the work to be taken up by the state government.

Besides, the Union government has not agreed to the Orissa government’s stipulations to spend five per cent of the net profit for the peripheral development of the area. It has sought waiver of this stipulation for the project. However, the Orissa government is reported to have expressed it’s unwillingness to waive off this condition for the project.