JSW Steel’s Rebuttal Of Project Withdrawal Report A Tight Slap On Opposition’s Face

Bhubaneswar, Sept 25: The clarification by the JSW Steel Limited, a leading global steel producer helmed by industrialist Sajjan Jindal, that it is not withdrawing from its project has come a major consolation for the new Mohan Majhi government which was facing flak from the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

In fact, the project has failed to make much headway as the steel behemoth could not take possession of the land it was allocated by Odisha government’s Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO), largely due to resistance by local farmers.

The farmers have been demanding a revised premium of their lands that were acquired long ago at ‘nominal’ prices.

Land Acquisition Challenges

JSW Steel is currently facing challenges regarding land possession in Naraj. Local farmers are demanding revised compensation for the lands that were previously acquired by the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).

On Tuesday, many national media houses had reported that JSW Steel Limited was contemplating to relocate its Rs 40,000 crore electric vehicle (EV) project from Odisha to Maharashtra. Hours later, In a statement issued by Ranjan Nayak, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at JSW Steel Limited, the company clarified: “JSW Group is not withdrawing its proposed Rs 40,000 crore electric vehicle and battery manufacturing project from Odisha.”

The rebuttal of the media reports as well as the reassurance by the JSW Steel Limited authorities is seen as a clear answer who pointed fingers at the Mohan Majhi government saying the project was withdrawing largely because of the inefficiency of present dispensation.

On February 10 of this year, the JSW Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Odisha government to establish an integrated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing project with a total investment of Rs 40,000 crore.

Project Details

The JSW project will involve setting up an EV and component manufacturing plant in Naraj, Cuttack district, alongside a copper smelter and lithium refinery in Paradip, Jagatsinghpur district. The comprehensive project will include a 50 GWh EV battery plant, lithium refinery, copper smelter, and related component manufacturing units.

Once operational, the JSW EV project in Naraj is poised to become the world’s largest single-location project in the electric vehicle sector.

The investment is planned to unfold in two phases. In the first phase, JSW intends to invest Rs 25,000 crore, generating employment for over 4,000 individuals. The second phase will see an additional Rs 15,000 crore investment to develop a manufacturing complex for electric vehicle components, including copper and lithium smelters. Overall, the total Rs 40,000 crore investment is expected to create around 11,000 jobs.

Potential Impact

Industry experts believe that the proposed project could revolutionize the automotive sector by producing high-quality, technologically advanced, and affordable batteries and electric vehicles. This initiative aims to transform commuting and energy consumption, significantly enhancing EV penetration in the market.