By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 25, 2020: Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group will soon start work on the proposed 13.2 million ton per annum integrated steel project at an estimated cost of Rs 53,700-crore at Jatadhar in Jagatsinghpur district, which Posco had abandoned due to opposition from local people.

Jindal’s promise to chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday through video conferencing has sparked of a debate whether the mineral rich state really will see the much awaited steel plant in coastal Odisha.

Top officials have been pushing for early commencement of work at the site by allocating land, water and power for the project to woo other investors to the state. The project is being fast paced to begin at the earliest, a release issued by the chief minister’s office said.

The steel project assumes significance following withdrawal of South Korean steel major Posco from its proposed Rs 52,000 crore steel project at the same site due to stiff opposition sending a wrong signal to the potential overseas investors.

Though there has been successful conclusion of a public hearing in January last, the public reaction after the commencement of work for the project can only indicate the fate of the project.

JSW is committed to invest over Rs one lakh crore in the state in next 10 years on various projects, Jindal also informed Patnaik.

JSW is also tying up with IIM-Sambalpur to create ‘JSW Centre for Development Studies for Odisha’.

Besides, JSW Steel will establish a 100-bed hospital and a school at Koida in Sundargarh in PPP mode with an objective to develop mining areas for the benefits of local people.