nagarnar steel: Chhattisgarh: Nagarnar steel unit ready to begin operations

The Nagarnar Steel plant, built at an investment of around ₹ 24,000 crore in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar area, is set to begin operations in the coming few weeks, 20 years after the first foundation stone was laid for the project, a top government official told ET.

The government-owned plant is also up for disinvestment, the process for which started while it was under construction.

“There are no concerns about project viability and completion anymore. This should help in fetching a better price for disinvestment, if the process goes through,” the official said.

Post commissioning, the day-to-day operations of the steel plant will be managed by Mecon Ltd, another public sector undertaking.

According to officials aware of the plan, iron ore for this project will be sourced from NMDC’s mines while coking coal will be imported.

The first foundation stone for the 3-million-tonnes-per-annum steel plan was laid in 2003 by the then Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani.

This project was aimed at integrating Naxal-hit Bastar with the economic progress of the rest of India. Land for the plant was acquired by the Chhattisgarh government in the early 1990s.