After unsuccessfully waiting for seven years to secure land, ArcelorMittal abandoned its 12-million tonne steel plant in Odisha citing unviability of the project.

   In a press release, the firm said the inordinate delays relating to land acquisition and allocation of captive iron ore blocks means this project is no longer viable.

   On December 21, 2006, ArcelorMittal signed an MoU with the Odisha government for the 12-mn t integrated steel making facility and a captive power plant, at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.

   This was to come up at Patna in Keonjhar district. It did not make progress because of stiff opposition from villagers to land acquisition.

   Therefore, the firm asked the state government not to renew their memorandum of understanding (MoU) which formally expired in November 2011.

   The release said "taking into account the current economic climate, the company has concluded that it will no longer be pursuing its plans for a steel plant in Keonjhar at this stage".    

Meanwhile, the company clarified that this decision will not have a bearing on its project proposals in other states.

   The company would implement two projects in Jharkhand and Karnataka, both of which are making steady progress, the release said.