Bhubaneswar: Steel baron LN Mittal Saturday said that Arcelor Mittal would invest Rs 2000 crore in Odisha.

Mittal was interacting with the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik through video conferencing from London.

Arcelor Mittal along with Nippon of Japan has taken over the steel assets of Essar Steel through the IBC route recently dishing out nearly Rs 50,000 crore. With this, the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel has acquired the Paradip Pellet Plant and Dubna Benefeciation Plant of Essar in Odisha.

Mittal said that the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel would invest Rs 2000 crore in ramping up the capacity of Paradip Pellet Plant to 12 million tonnes per annum (tpa) from the present 6 mtpa and that of the Dubna Beneficiation Plant to 16 mtpa from the present 5 mtpa.

Mittal praised the Odisha government for closing up the first round of iron ore mines auction in a transparent way.

“The auction process has set a global benchmark”, he added.

Arcelor Mittal has got two iron ore mines –Thakurani and Sagasahi- in Odisha through the auction route.

The Odisha chief minister urged the steel tycoon to invest in Odisha to add value to the minerals. He emphasised on job creation through investments in mines development and value addition sectors.